


Bitten

by Betitaintme



Series: Bitten [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Emotional Baggage, Hunters, Hurt/Comfort, Isaac has a potty mouth, M/M, Mates, Original Character(s), Puppy Piles, Rape Aftermath, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Scent Marking, Scenting, Scents & Smells, Torture, crying oh so much crying......
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-09-09
Packaged: 2018-01-12 15:11:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 29
Words: 102,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1189797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Betitaintme/pseuds/Betitaintme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Eric Anderson travels to Beacon Hills for a job interview he thinks its the first step towards a new life. It definitely will be a new life but not exactly in the way he imagined. Hunters, Omegas, Scenting, Puppy Piles. So much baggage we need an SUV to haul it all. TW gang is all aged about 10 years. Check it out lots of poor writing skills on display.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess I'll add the same disclaimer that everyone else adds. I don't own Teen Wolf or any Teen Wolf characters.
> 
> The chapters are going to vary in length I've got over 26 written and a couple of 1-2 chapter follow ups. I'm working on a sequel as well that will probably be 5-10 chapters. I'm thinking the main story will be 30ish chapters.
> 
> There is lots of "scenting" and smelling of emotions in this story. Probably too much. I've also played around with the werewolf universe some in terms of abilities and life spans. Nothing crazy.
> 
> Rated M for some sex. The main pairing in this story is Isaac and a male OC. I will warn that someone gets raped so if that's a trigger for you be warned. It's brief though.
> 
> Primary focus is Isaac and OC. However there is also a bit of Derek, Stiles (sterek) Jackson, Scott, and a little bit of Allison, Lydia and Danny. Erica and Boyd are dead (sorry)
> 
> Not only is this my first TW story but it is pretty much my first story period. There's going to be a lot of mistakes so if you're a snob about things like that you may want to look someplace else. I'm 100% open to ideas of things you'd like to see in this story. If you just want to gripe about how horrible it is or how a drunk kitten with a rusty typewriter could be more coherent please don't bother.
> 
> For those that are interested here are the two vehicles featured prominently in the story. I imagined a clean shiny probably never been off of road in it's life Jeep Cherokee.  
> http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2012/05/10/17/34/2000_jeep_cherokee_limited_4wd-pic-5581611639795158147.jpeg  
> For no real reason other than I really like them I also gave him a Toyota MR2 Spyder  
> http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/media/img/new-cars/mrspydersmt.jpg

“Eric I know it’s not Seattle but it’s out of Texas and that’s what you really want right?” The recruiter had asked talking over Eric’s objections. “Look the market is really flat in Seattle right now. This is a 12 month contract FAR closer to Seattle than you are now. It’ll get you out of Texas and that heat, in 12 months when this contract is up you can start looking at Seattle again.” Mark assures. “This really wasn’t what I was thinking about Mark. It’s a little desolate up there. Not really looking to living out in the middle of nowhere.” Scoffing Mark replies “Beacon Hills is hardly the middle of nowhere it’s no Dallas but trust me it’s close enough to other major cities that you won’t mind it. Will you at least look at the information on the company and the city? I know I should have asked first but I already showed them your resume. They say you are exactly what they are looking for and are desperate to interview you. They have big funding, an urgent need and will just about let you name your price. This type of thing doesn’t happen that often Eric I’d hate to see you pass it up.”

  
That is how one week later Eric found himself scrambling backwards on all fours desperately trying to get away from a… “What the FUCK is that?!?!??”


	2. Chapter 2

Having finished his interview early Eric had decided to take some time to drive around what he was sure to be his new home. He'd been shocked by how enthusiastic the hiring manager had been. Past experience had taught him that they tended to play things pretty close to the vest. He'd been told that there should be an answer in the next few hours.

Coming from the flat wide open spaces of Texas he had been pleased to see Beacon Hills was nearly surrounded by forests. His hiring manager had picked up on his interest in this and had encouraged him to take a walk on one of the trails at the preserve on the edge of town.

Pulling the rental into the small parking area at the entrance to one of the trail heads Eric lets out a noise of surprise. The forest was thick and lush. Nothing like anything they had in Texas. Getting out of the car the air was crisp and clean with a nice breeze. Slipping his jacket on Eric shuts the door of the rental and starts down the gravel nature trail. After walking a few minutes the parking area was already totally obscured by growth. Looking around Eric marvels at the many different varieties of trees, plants and ground cover. Smiling happily at the uncommonly natural surroundings Eric pulls his phone out and takes a video. Turning slowly in a circle. "So this is Beacon Hills California. The town is pretty much on the edge of a giant forest. Not sure if you can hear very well but the forest is alive with life. Closest thing to this we have in DFW is River Legacy Park. This place makes that look like a real dump.." Hitting STOP on the recording Eric thumbs SHARE and then sends it to his Facebook wall. Walking for another 15 minutes or so Eric realizes the forest has suddenly gone quiet. Stopping he looks around cautiously. With a start he wonders if he is in bear country. He hears a snap and a low growl off to his right. Freezing Eric slowly turns his head. In the underbrush he can make out a large shape moving slowly. Suddenly two bright yellow eyes meet his shocked blue ones. Frantically he searches his memory for what to do. Make eye contact and loudly try to scare it off? No what if dominance is not the thing maybe it's best to look down and slowly back away. _I'm not prepared for wandering in the forest, just some dumb ass from the city about to get eaten._ He thinks as he slowly starts backing up. The growling intensifies and slowly the head emerges from the brush. Long dripping teeth on display lips curled in fury. "What is this some kind of joke?" Eric says with disbelief. A man is emerging from the brush but it's no man like he had ever seen before. Ridged forehead, giant fangs, heavy brow with thick tufts of hair. They layer of dirt and filth does not hide his powerfully built body. Down his long arms are large hands displaying incredibly sharp looking claws. The man/wolf thing throws its head back and roars at Eric. Knowing this was not some college prankster Eric moves back quickly immediately tripping on a rock.

Scott and Isaac are sparing in front of the Hale house. Derek looks on while Stiles Lydia and Allison go over the itinerary for an upcoming alliance meeting with a neighboring pack. Mid stride to strike at Scott Isaac stops and cocks his head to the side. Scott moves to attack but stops when he sees Isaac close his eyes and inhale deeply. "What do you smell?" Derek asks "I don't know… something… some _one_ wonderful." At that Isaac turns and bolts in to the forest. Scott looks at Derek a moment before they take off in pursuit. After a few minutes Isaac picks up another scent. The scent of an unfamiliar wolf and he can faintly hear the sounds of a fight. His wolf is whining and urging him to go faster.  Pushing himself even harder he eventually crashes through some trees to see a half naked omega attacking someone. Isaac pauses for a moment eyes wide open mouth agape. One word screams through his mind **_mine!_** With a roar of fury he shifts and attacks.

Hitting the ground with a thud Eric frantically moves backwards "What the _fuck_ is that?!" just as the wolf/man leaps from the shade and attacks. A fortunate up sweep of an elbow catches the attacker in the chin and saves Eric's neck from a vicious extraction. Howling in fury the beast slashes him across the chest claws cutting deep while also biting furiously into his shoulder. With flagging strength he tries to fight off this _thing_ but it's too strong too fast. Its putrid breath hot in his face as it roars at him again. He is dimly aware of another roar and suddenly his attacker is ripped off of him and is tossed across the clearing. Through watery bleary eyes he can make out 3 other "creatures" one of whom literally tears his assailant in half. An instant later his savior is by his side trailed by the other two. Their features slide away to reveal normal human faces. "It's ok, take it easy don't try and get up you're safe now." Eric tries to speak but ends up hacking up blood and whimpering weakly. Eric reaches out and grabs Isaac's arm and squeezes with what little strength he has left.

"What.. what is going on?" he manages to shudder out. Isaac takes Eric's hand and looks at Derek. Having surveyed Eric's horrific injuries they both know he won't live long enough to make it to the hospital. Closing his eyes and exhaling for a moment. "What's your name?" Derek asks. After three attempts Eric finally manages to rasp out "Eric." "Ok Eric, I don't have much time so I'm going to ask you to trust me. Hopefully because of what you just saw you won't have any trouble believing me. My name is Derek you've been attacked by a feral werewolf. You're badly wounded and won't last much longer. I can possibly save you but it involves you becoming one of us. You'll still be able to lead a somewhat normal life but there will be changes, and dangers. It's your choice. If you say yes I'll bite you and if you survive we will help you through the change. If you say no we'll stay with you until the end and make sure your body is found." Another racking cough tears through Eric's body. "Eric." Isaac says clasping Eric's hand in his. "You need to say yes. Derek won't turn you unless you tell him it's OK. We can help you once you turn it's not a normal life but it's better than death. Yes or no, he needs to know fast before you're too weak for the Bite to take." Fear and uncertainty are apparent in Eric's eyes. Tears begin rolling down his cheeks. Wiping the tears gently with his hand Isaac continues. "Eric, my name is Isaac. Please let us help you. I know this is crazy and you probably think you're going to turn in to a monster like what attacked you. I promise you that won't happen. We will all be here for you to help you. _Please_ say yes." Isaac squeezes Eric's hand looking into his terrified eyes. "Yes we'll be like family like brothers." the one on the other side of Derek speaks up. Isaac looks frantically at his Alpha eyes tearing up "Derek….. _help him!_ " "Will I...will I hurt...people?" Eric wheezes out too weak almost for even the wolves to hear. "No." Derek answers shaking his head forcefully. "We are not like that." "Eric _please._ You are out of time." Isaac stresses. Looking from Isaac's pleading eyes to Derek's Eric steels himself. He can feel the life draining out of him. Barely able to hold open his eyes. He manages a wry thought _Well if anything it will be interesting._ He locks eyes with Derek and nods slowly in the affirmative. In a flash Derek's eyes turn red, his face changes and in a blur of motion he dives to Eric's side and sinks his teeth in to the skin right above his hip bone. There is a white hot flash of pain that has Eric howling in pain back arching off the ground. There is an explosion of light and sound as his body collapses limply to the ground. His last sight was of Isaac stroking his arm and looking worriedly at Derek.


	3. Chapter 3

"Think he'll make it?" Isaac asks still holding Eric's hand. Derek sighs and shakes his head. "I don't know he lost a lot of blood, we need to get him back to the house. You and Scott take care of the Omega." Derek gathers Eric up in his arms looking at Isaac with an eye brow raised when he hesitates to release Eric's hand. Isaac quickly lays the limp arm across Eric's chest and stares at the unconscious man a moment before heading towards the body of the Omega without a word.

After running for several minutes Derek arrives back at his house. Stiles, Lydia and Allison ware waiting anxiously on the porch and jump up when they see Derek clear the trees. "Who is that?" Lydia inquires. "This is Eric, he was unfortunate enough to be caught in the path of an Omega.  We need to get him stitched up." "Shouldn't we be taking him to the hospital?" asks Allison taking in the numerous oozing wounds. "You had to bite him didn't you?" asks Stiles. He'd seen the amount of damage and rightly realized that Eric would not have survived without the Bite. Allison's mouth falls open in shock. "You've bitten someone?" Derek scoffs and brushes past the group in to the house. "I don't need Argent approval to save someone's life." Rushing in to the kitchen Derek lays Eric's battered body down on the table. "He wouldn't have done it without the person's OK, you know that." Lydia states coolly following Derek in to the house. Derek has pulled out a first aid kid from the kitchen closet and is pulling out supplies. He looks over at Allison who is standing quietly by the kitchen door. "I could use your help, you're better at this sort of thing than I am." She nods quickly and walks over to the table. "We need to clean out the wounds and get them stitched up to stop the bleeding." Allison nods and begins working to clean some of the worse injuries. Stiles takes in the view of Eric's now half naked chewed up body. "Oh wow, he's in really bad shape." Starting to feel a little light headed at the sight of all the gore he chooses to sit down and look at Lydia instead. She narrows her eyes at him and "hmrps" "What?" he asks. "Few months of peace and quiet and you act like you've never seen this type of thing before." She says airily looking past Stiles to the form on the table.

"Derek?" Allison says confusion heavy in her voice. He looks up from the wound he was working on. "How quickly do bitten people start healing?" He walks over to her side of the table and looks down. Some of the wounds were slowly closing up. "Not this fast.  Also we heal all at once not partially like this. I've never seen this before." Stiles and Lydia step over to the table. Half of the wounds were completely healed while the other half continued to bleed lazily. "Are we sure that was just a normal run of the mill Omega?" Asks Stiles cocking his head sideways. "Are we sure this is a normal run of the mill human?" Lydia asks raising her eye brow and looking at the other three people.


	4. Chapter 4

Eric comes to with a start. Looking around he sees he is in a bedroom. Sitting in a chair next to the bed he sees the younger guy he remembers as Isaac looking at him grinning. "How do you feel?" He asks softly moving over to sit on the edge of the bed. "I feel like absolute hell, but I have a feeling I should feel much worse." Eric replies looking down at his bandage covered chest and arms. Trying to sit up is a bad idea as pain shoots through his body. "No no not yet, it's only been a few hours. You're still in pretty bad shape. Your transition has been…. different." Isaac hesitantly reaches over and brushes some hair out of Eric's eyes. "What do you mean different?" Eric asks looking up in to Isaac's worried blue eyes. "Well for one thing you should still be asleep." Derek's voice from the door draws both their attention. "You are a little bit of a mystery Eric. Typically a newly bitten person will sleep a full 24 hours before waking. Also, all existing wounds are usually gone within the first couple of hours. However about half of your wounds started closing as soon as we got you back to the house but then nothing else has happened. Anything you'd like to tell us?" Eric looks from Derek to Isaac and stammers "I…I don't know what you mean." "He means are you some kind of supernatural freak of nature with ulterior motives." Blurts out Stiles shoving past Derek and in to the room. Derek growls at Stiles and continues. "You either die or you turn when you're bitten. Cases of anything else happening are extremely rare. I should be able to sense your wolf by now both as your Alpha but also by scent. As far as I can tell you're still human." "Well that's just my luck. I never get to have nice things." Eric says flatly. The three pack mates in the room share a look. "Look Derek. I don't know what to tell you. I don't know anything about the supernatural apart from what I've seen in the movies or on TV. I had a job interview today at JMH. I mentioned to the guy interviewing me how nice it was to see actual forest. He said I should take a walk on one of the trails in the preserve. I did, I was attacked, now I'm here." Derek's eyes narrow and he says nothing for a moment. Then he and Isaac both looked towards the window. Their enhanced hearing allowing them to hear the car coming up the road towards the house. He looks at Isaac "Will you bring him up here?" "Yes." Isaac pats Eric gently on the arm and walks out of the room. Missing how Stiles eye brows raise in surprise as he glances at Derek.

Eric is staring at Derek when a moment later Isaac returns with a new arrival. "I understand we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. How long ago was he bitten?" "Five hours." Answers Derek still staring at Eric. "Interesting, Mr?" Deaton looks at Eric. "Anderson, Eric Anderson." "Mr. Anderson what are you feeling right now physically." "Incredibly sore, throbbing, I feel like I have fire in my blood, whatever happened here." Eric gestures to the wound on his hip from Derek "Hurts the worst. It's burning" Eric winces as he touches the bandage. "Why didn't you say something?!" Isaac asks alarmed. "I never had the chance I woke up then Mr. Frowny there." Eric points at Derek while Stiles nearly falls out of his chair. "Came in and started interrogating me like I would know why his magic bite hasn't worked." Derek's eyes flash red as he clenches his jaw. "I was trying to determine if you're a danger to my pack!" Stiles puts one hand on Derek's arm while he rubs his other arm up and down Derek's back. "Let's let Deaton work his magic before you blow out your frown muscles. We'll get to the bottom of this." He says softly. To everyone's amazement in the room Derek closes his eyes and exhales forcefully. Most of the tension leaving his shoulders.

Deaton clears his throat. "There may be a very simple explanation. Mr. Anderson are you on any medication?" Eric gets a guarded look "Why?" "Yes." Isaac and Derek answer in unison. Eric looks sharply at Isaac. "Sorry but it's pretty obvious, you kind of reek of it." "How do you know?" Eric asks shocked. Derek taps his nose "One of the benefits of being a wolf. You can smell much more than a human." "What kinds of medications are you on it could explain a great many things. I could ask them to leave the room if you'd like." Offers Deaton gently. With a shrug Eric returns his gaze to Deaton. "Yes I'm on a couple of things. I have a mild heart condition that requires medication. I have nerve damage in my left arm and hip from a traffic accident that causes constant pain, and a couple of things for depression." Eric says the last bit softly refusing to meet anyone's eyes in the room. "As I suspected. I won't know until I can do some tests but I have a feeling that your medication is interfering with the transition. It is not unheard of but is very rare. Can you tell me the names of the medications you're on? I'll need to do some tests. I'll also need some of your blood." Over the next few minutes the doctor draws some of Eric's blood and writes down the names of the medication Eric has in his system. Before he leaves he fixes Eric with a look. "Mr. Anderson there is no need to feel shame, we all of us have our burdens to bear."

"So I guess it's the difference between TV and reality but I don't feel all that supernatural." Eric says to no one in particular. "Well not sure if you noticed or not, but you can't tell where the needle was." Isaac points out with a grin gesturing at Eric's arm. "Hmmm that's interesting maybe the change has just been slowed down?" Stiles comes over and looks closer. "It's really hard to say dude. You're showing some signs but you're still pretty much human like me." So you don't feel anything? Uh mentally? Like another presence or emotions which you're not used to?" he asks. Eric doesn't say anything for a moment and appears to concentrate for a bit. "No not really. The only thing out of the norm is the pain." "What hurts?" asks Isaac sitting on the side of the bed. "Pretty much everywhere, this one on my waist burns quite a bit. It's nothing unbearable but it's quite a bit more pain than I have dealt with before. I feel hot like my blood is much hotter than usual. When I first woke up it was barely tolerable. Either I've gotten used to it or it has died down." "The one on your side is where Derek bit you. The hot blood is probably the wolf venom." Supplies Stiles. "I can help with the pain if you'd let me." Isaac asks almost shyly. "How does that work?" asks Eric. "Wolves are able to pull the pain out. It doesn't make it go away permanently but it's faster than pills." Isaac reaches over for Eric's hand while he is speaking. Stopping and looking at Eric with a raised eye brow waiting permission. Eric nods and Isaac gently takes Eric's hand in his and closes his eyes. After a few seconds black veins start to appear on Isaacs's wrist and slowly move up his arm. Eric gasps and then slowly settles deeper in the bed as his body relaxes for the first time since waking. "That's incredible thanks." He says sleepily. Isaac gifts him with a smile that lights up the room. "Are you hungry do you want anything? You look pretty sleepy maybe you should sleep some?" Eric smiles up at Isaac "I'm just going... to..." Eric's eyes blink a few times and then he's asleep. Isaac reaches out and smooth's Eric's out of control hair a bit and pulls the blanket up further. Smirking Stiles tugs on Isaac's hand. "Come on lover boy let's go see what Mr. Frowny is up to." Isaac nods and follows Stiles out of the room and down stairs where Derek was just closing the front door.

"Think we need to keep an eye on him?" Stiles asks slinging himself on the couch. Derek frowns and takes his chair and looks at Isaac who is staring out the window. "Isaac." He calls to get the young betas attention. When Isaac continues to look out the window Derek repeats himself. "Isaac!" Started out of his reverie Isaac turns to look at Derek with a sheepish look on his face. He takes a seat by Stiles and looks at the slightly annoyed Alpha. "Do you think he is your mate?" Derek asks. Isaac's and Stiles's eyes both go wide. "What? No of course not! Why would you? I don't even know him! I... maybe..." Stiles snorts at the uncharacteristic rant from the normally unflappable Isaac. "I don't know." He admits and sinks lower in the couch chin on his chest. "Well dude you know you've been unusually…nice to him." Stiles offers. Isaac doesn't look up. "I can't be nice to someone without wanting to mount them is that it? You know I'm not like that anymore…." Derek smirks. "Isaac." He says softly. "You ripped the Omega _in half_. I've never seen or felt such fury from you before. Plus the desire and want that was rolling off you up there was almost stifling. I've never seen this type of reaction out of you to anyone else. You typically are pretty untrusting of strangers and you never touch them." Looking up and slumping further back in to the couch Isaac shakes his head. "I don't know what exactly it is I feel for him. It's like… Derek it's like he's my LIFE. I've had crushes before. This is nothing like that it's like I.. I don't know it's so confusing. I've never felt like this before. I've never felt this way about another man either. My wolf wants nothing more than to wrap around him right now and protect him." "But?" Stiles prods. "I don't know I have conflicting emotions about it. Shouldn't I feel something from him" the young beta asks looking at Derek. "Mates can be confusing. This is hardly a normal situation. His body is resisting the Bite. We don't know anything about him, and he's essentially been unconscious or in extreme pain since we met him. Give it some time let's get to know him and see what happens. You don't want to rush in to anything." Isaac nods while staring at the floor "yeah... yeah."

"Once he heals up and gets out of bed maybe you can a better read on him." Stiles offers helpfully. "He has been kind of out of it from the very beginning." Isaac says with a hint of hopefulness. "Plus I don't like the idea of springing this on him oh HEY I'm your destined mate by the way it's you and me forever like it or not. I want him to like me for me." Derek is silent for a moment then comes to a decision. "I want someone to be with him at all times. Not only is he injured but we don't know anything about him." "Get him better, find out his story and then figure out where to go from there. No problem." says Stiles standing up to stretch. "So you think it's what Deaton said?" He grunts out while stretching languidly and rolling his neck. "It's just something to do with medication?" "I don't know. I have never heard of medicine blocking the transition." Derek replies glaring out the window. He stiffens suddenly and turns looking up the stairs. "What?" Isaac asks standing up and preparing to race up the stairs. "I... I felt him for a moment over the pack bond." Derek is still for a moment. "There it is again stronger." "I felt it too that time." Isaac adds moving quickly up the stairs to check on Eric. "Soooooo does that mean he's turning now?" asks Stiles as he follows Derek and Isaac up the stairs. Upon reaching the bedroom they find Eric still asleep. Grimacing slightly and squirming a little. "Still smells human." Derek adds after taking a subtle whiff over the bed. "And very medicated." Isaac adds reaching for Eric's hand quietly pulling the pain out of him. After a few moments Eric sighs softly and settles a little deeper in the mound of pillows and blankets. As they are all making their way back downstairs Stiles's phone rings. "Scotty boy what's up?" Stiles answers cheerfully. "You felt that too? Yeah he's ok we're still not sure what's going on. Maybe he's just transitioning very slowly?" Stiles says shrugging and looking at Derek. "I'll text you if anything else happens ok? Bye." "He probably has a car at the preserve parking area. We should get that and bring it here. We need to find out what hotel he's staying at and get his things brought here as well." Stiles says making a mental check list.

Just then they hear a thud up stairs. Isaac is off the couch and up the stairs in a flash. Eric had awoke and desperately needed to use the bathroom. Forcing his damaged body out of bed he'd set out across the floor on wobbly legs. He made it all of 5 steps before fainting and crumpling to the floor.

Seconds later the bedroom door nearly flies off its hinges as its slammed open by Isaac. "Eric!" he yells rushing to the unconscious form on the floor. "Eric what happened? Eric!?" "What's happened?" says Derek and Stiles rushing in. There's a whimper from Eric as Isaac carefully turns him over. "He's unconscious and bleeding." Isaac growls angrily shifting partially and looking around the room for threats. "Let's get him back to bed and redress those wounds." Stiles says softly looking around the room as well. Derek sniffs the air "No one else has been in here." Isaac gently picks Eric up and carries him back to the bed laying him down eliciting a few pained whimpers from Eric. Stiles comes back from the bathroom with the first aid kid and offers it to Derek who begins replace the bandages. Isaac grabs Eric's hand and closes his eyes as he starts leaching the pain away. After a few moments Eric's breathing smooth's out and he seems to relax slightly. Having shifted back Isaac grabs a chair from the corner and sits it next to the bed. Noticing Derek's look Isaac shakes his head. "I.. I can't leave him alone again Derek I just can't. My wolf… he's freaking out." Derek sighs pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Stiles, stay and watch Eric I need to talk to Isaac." Stiles nods and sits in the chair that Isaac had moved. "Come on Isaac we need to talk." Derek motions with his head towards the door. The beta hesitates for a moment then nods and walks out casting a quick worried glance over his shoulder at Eric. Derek shares a look with Stiles briefly before he follows Isaac out closing the door behind him.

They return to the living room and Isaac perches on the edge of the couch nervously. Derek stares at his beta a moment. Derek takes in the uncertainty and anxiety emanating from him before he sits on the edge of the coffee table putting a hand on Isaac's knee. "Isaac I'm not mad, you're not in trouble. I'm concerned for your safety." Isaac looks up "My safety? I'm not the one that's been slashed to within an inch of his life and possibly rejecting the bite." Derek frowns slightly and says "We don't know anything about him. Where he came from, what his intentions are, who might have sent him….." "I know." Isaac says locking eyes with his Alpha. "Derek I _know_. I just.. I can't the instinct is so strong. He has to be my Mate he _has_ to be. It's the only explanation for how I feel. I've never even been in to guys before why else would I suddenly have these feelings for one?" Derek pats Isaac on the shoulder and stands up. "Gender doesn't matter when it comes to mates. Labels like gay or straight are pretty much for humans. Your wolf will like who ever your wolf likes. That said though you have to be careful. Take your time. Get to know him. There is no need to rush in to anything. He's been through a lot, I agree with you it would be bad to tell him about this right now." "What if he's straight? How does that work?" asks Isaac. "If he is your mate then he should feel the same way. It may take a while for him to realize. You remember what it was like when you were first turned. Your emotions were all over the place. It's going to take him a while to sort things out."

"Guys?" Stiles's whisper comes from upstairs. "Figured we need to get started on finding out who this guy is. I've looked through his wallet. " Isaac frowns slightly at the invasion of his mate's privacy but says nothing. Derek nods and listens to Stiles's whisper. "Eric Miles Anderson. 1711 Denver Euless Texas. I'll ask Danny to see what he can come up with. Nothing out of the ordinary in the wallet. Credit cards some money nothing else. His phone seems pretty innocent enough. Lots of random pictures, he's got a couple of email accounts set up and they are all pretty devoid of anything. He's received a few text messages and IM's from a few different people." By now Isaac and Derek had joined Stiles in the bedroom. Stiles gestures to the hallway and leads them both out. He's got a voice mail from who I assume is his recruiter. He's been offered the job at JMH. Something doesn't feel right though." "What is it? Derek asks taking the phone and looking through it. "It all seems very….. impersonal." "He's not a teenager Stiles maybe he prefers function over form?" Derek says scrolling through the pictures." I guess." Stiles sighs "It's just an awfully nice phone to not have it loaded up with games." Derek and Isaac both roll their eyes. "I want you to get that information to Danny right away and see what he is able to find out. I want to know everything." Derek hands the phone back to Stiles and heads down stairs. "What do you really think Stiles?" Isaac asks softly. "On the surface, if he is what he appears to be, we've got a 30s something guy a long way from home with few friends and little to no family. All the pictures? None of them had people in them. It is strange though. Why look for work so far from home? I'm sure there are far more jobs where he is from that in Beacon Hills." "I hate Texas" comes from the bedroom. Stiles and Isaac share a shocked look before stepping back in the bedroom to find Eric slowly trying to get out of bed. "You need to rest!" Isaac hisses rushing to Eric's side. "I'm about to wet this bed in 5 seconds if I don't get to the bathroom." Eric says. "Oh! Well let me help you." Isaac says as he helps Eric to his feet and they slowly move across the floor. "To answer your question. I hate Texas. It's hot, flat, boring," he grits his teeth in pain for a moment before continuing. "I wanted to start over someplace else." Once Isaac and Eric disappear into the bathroom Stiles slips the phone and wallet back in to Eric's shredded pants that are lying on the dresser.

"I can probably take it from here." Eric gestures nervously around the bathroom. Isaac opens his mouth to protest then closes it blushing slightly. "Ok then call me when you're done and I'll help you back to bed." Isaac pauses at the door and looks back at Eric uncertainly before closing the door and walking over to sit on the bed. Eric lets out a deep breath and stares at himself in the mirror. _He's adorable and sweet like a puppy. A tall gorgeous puppy that turns in to a werewolf._ Smiling he limps over to the toilet and relieves himself. Eric braces his arm against the wall to maintain his balance. Once he is finished he hobbles back over to the sink taking in his battered appearance. _How am I going to explain all this at work? Everyone's going to think I got mugged or something._ He notes the bruising starting to show around both eyes. Not even remembering when his face had been struck during the attack. Sighing loudly he washes his hands and shakes his head _So much for Derek's magic bite._

The thought had occurred to him that this was some kind of elaborate ruse. However the wounds were quite real. The attack had been violent and nearly fatal. The pain was definitely real as was the burning in his veins. It seemed to be getting worse. In fact much worse. Eric grabs the edge of the counter and gasps in pain. Instantly there is a pounding on the door which suddenly flies open. Isaac rushes and latches on to Eric immediately leaching the pain from him. "shhh shhh its OK give it a minute" Eric whimpers though clenched teeth. "It burns!" Derek is suddenly there also pulling pain out of Eric. "Hold on Eric we'll help try and breathe." Isaac looks at Derek concern etched on his face. After a few seconds Eric lets out a cross between a sigh and a sob and collapses slowly into Derek and Isaacs arms. Derek helps Isaac gather Eric up in his arms and Isaac carries him back to the bed. "How long will I be like this? Am I going to die?" Eric asks quietly looking out the window. Isaac looks to Derek for guidance. "We don't know how long, but no you're not going to die. You're stable but something is blocking the change. If it is your medication it will have to work its way out of your system before you will turn." Derek says pulling the blanket up to cover Eric's bandaged torso. "He's correct I'm afraid." Everyone turns to see Stiles and Deaton walking in the bedroom. "I ran the tests and did some research. What you're going through is very similar to some other accounts that I've come across. Certain medications in certain dosages act almost as a shield against the Alpha venom. Until that medication is completely expelled from your system you will not turn. The venom is meant to be absorbed and to facilitate the transition. Not remain in your blood stream long term. The medications you are on are quite potent the combination also allows them to play off each other if you will. Essentially it'll probably take a week or two before they are diminished enough for the venom to take full effect. You'll likely have unpredictable surges in pain and bouts of weakness. It may get worse the closer you get to turning." Eric shivers miserably in the bed. Deaton shifts a little bit and continues "If I can add one bit of good news. The full moon is in 2 weeks. That will likely help things along." "Eric shakes his head. "I can't stay here two weeks I have to get back to Texas. I have a job there and I'm pretty much out of vacation time. What am I going to do?" He looks helplessly at Deaton. "The first thing we need to do is get you healed up. I brought some salve with me that should help accelerate the healing of those wounds. Derek and the pack should be able to help speed your healing as well." Deaton looks pointedly at Derek. Derek looks blankly at Deaton for a moment "Will that uh.. Will that even work without him being a wolf yet?" "It should to what degree I'm not sure, however he _is_ a member of your pack." Deaton sets to work applying the salve while Derek and Stiles leave the room. Isaac stays nearby watching Deaton uneasily. "So… puppy pile tonight?" Stiles says seriously as he and Derek go down the stair case. Rolling his eyes Derek sighs "yes text Jackson and Scott. Tell them pack meeting at seven. I want them to come get Eric's keys and go get his car. We can worry about his hotel tomorrow."

A few moments later Deaton comes out and takes his leave of them. Stiles looks in the room and grins when he sees Isaac on the bed curled protectively around a sleeping Eric gently stroking his hair. "We should introduce him to the others when they show up if he wakes up again. Will you ask him?" Isaac nods his head yes without saying anything. Stiles closes the door gently and follow Derek back down stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Went through and edited a few things in the first chapters up until this point. Didn't realize some of my formatting was lost so I needed to fix that. Also broke it up a little bit so its not just giant blocks of text.

"So where is the new guy?" Jackson asks throwing himself down on the couch. Stiles beams at Jackson as their shoulders bump. Jackson rolls his eyes but gently bumps his knee against Stiles's. Even after all these years Stiles still finds it hard to believe that Jackson of all people would want to touch him. He always does it in a subtle way so as not to be too obvious but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't just a little fond of his hyperactive pack mate. Derek catches the subtle touch between the two and his mouth quirks into a slight smile. Jackson had come a long way from when he had first become a wolf. "He is upstairs with Isaac getting cleaned up. He didn't want to meet you guys covered in dirt and dried blood." Just then Scott bursts in "Sorry I'm late I had to help Deaton with a Doberman. Allison can't come her dad's asked her to meet with some other hunters out of town. He's probably just freaked about the Omega." "Probably also not happy that we've added to the pack." Stiles adds with an eye roll. He pulls out his phone to text Allison. "Lydia's aunt is in town to go over her grandparents estate planning she'll be busy until tomorrow." Jackson adds.

They turn at the sound of footsteps on the stairs and see an anxious Isaac guiding an equally anxious Eric down the stairs. "Hey guys" Isaac says as he guides Eric in to the living room and helps him sit down on the couch quietly squeezing himself in between Eric and Stiles. Stiles smirks at this but says nothing. Jackson raises an eye brow but remains quiet. "Eric this is Jackson and you've already met Scott. Would you like to start us off?" Derek says nodding in the older man's direction. Eric coughs nervously the wolves in the room noting his hammering heart rate and spiking anxiety "Sure. Um Eric Anderson I'm from Texas. I was here for an interview and was told the preserve would be a nice place to go for a walk." Jackson snorts and shifts back in his chair. Eric smirks and continues "Yeah I know better now. Apparently werewolves are real and an Omega was it?" Eric looks to Derek for confirmation who nods at him and says "Feral." "A feral Omega decided to make me a late breakfast. Isaac showed up just in time then Derek bit me, my medication is interfering with the Bite so I'm still human. I guess that's it." "What kind of work do you do?" asks Jackson peering intently at Eric. "I'm in the IT industry." Eric replies. "Are there no IT jobs in Texas? Beacon Hills is hardly Silicon Valley." Jackson counters narrowing his eyes. "I uh yes but I had an interview here…" Eric replies shrinking in on himself slightly. "Do you have any family here? Girlfriend? Boyfriend?" Eric shakes his head no "Then why come all the way to Beacon Hills? Leave your friends, family, loved ones for some little nowhere town?" Jackson's voice is getting louder as he presses for answers. Isaac growls quietly and glares at Jackson. "What Isaac? I'm asking the questions that no one else seems to have the balls to ask. This guy comes all the way from Texas for no real reason. He _somehow_ manages to be attacked by a feral Omega that _somehow_ managed to be on Hale territory without being detected. Seems like bull shit to me."

Eric's heart starts to spike even higher as the anxiety starts to turn to fear. They all sense it at the same time. Jackson smirks at Derek raising both his eye brows in silent communication. Isaac having had more than enough of Jackson berating Eric says hotly "Stop being a dick Jackson he's been through a lot today he nearly died, found out werewolves were real, and has been in almost constant pa.." "It's OK it does seem suspicious." Eric interrupts putting his hand on Isaacs leg. "I needed a change of scenery. I needed to get out of Texas and start over fresh someplace else. I.. I.. well I killed someone.." "What?!" Stiles and Scott exclaim in unison. Eric stares at the floor as his shoulders slump. "It was an accident last year. I well" Eric closes his eyes sighs deeply and leans back on the couch. "Let me back up a bit. Without going in to too many details something happened that set me on a downward spiral. The end result being a traffic accident that took someone's life. The traffic cameras showed that she ran the light I was not at fault. I was so drunk though, so wasted it's a miracle I wasn't sited for DUI. I guess I was whisked away to the hospital fast enough that the police didn't know. I was unconscious for a couple days. So I was obviously sober by the time the took my statement. Nothing was ever said about. They already knew that she had run the light. They said it wasn't my fault but…. I shouldn't have been driving. If I'd been sober I probably could have swerved stopped, done something. It just really messed with me. Physically and mentally. She was a mother, a wife, a daughter…."

Eric stops breathing heavily eyes closed. Isaac is rubbing him gently on the back the room is silent except for Eric's labored breathing. "So as you can imagine I was pretty broken up. My arm and hip were pretty messed up in the accident. I was able to get full use of them back with physical therapy but they hurt all the time. I was already in a pretty dark place this just made things worse. My doctor put me on anti depressants. They also found out I had a heart problem with all the tests they ran so they put me on medication for that as well." Eric leans back finally looking around the room at everyone. Jackson's expression had softened considerably. He, more than anyone knows what how it feels to take lives and have to deal with the emotional consequences. "Basically after that I fell in to a rut. Just went to work and came home never went out lost what few friends I had because I never wanted to do anything. A few months ago I decided that enough was enough and I needed to make a change. I wanted to go to Seattle but my recruiter said that JMH here in Beacon Hills was a perfect fit so here I am. Nearly dying and being in constant pain seems to be karma's way of getting me back. Yay" Eric raises his hands with false cheer and looks at Derek. "Regret biting me yet?" Eric says bitterly and looks down, a single tear making its way down his cheek. Derek is in front of Eric in an instant crouching down he gently lifts Eric's chin and looks into his eyes. "Eric we all have things in our past that we'd rather forget. Each and every one of us. That doesn't matter. What matters is the type of person you are right here right now. I don't regret saving your life." Eric nods and grimaces as the pain flares up again. Isaac and Derek both quickly pull it out of him before it can get too bad. Eric settles back in the couch and exhales deeply as they do. His heart rate has slowed some but is still worryingly high causing Isaac to frown and look helplessly at Derek. In the silence that follows a sound is heard from upstairs. "Sounds like my phone. I'll check it later." Eric says. "I'll get it" Isaac answers and stands and rushes off to retrieve the device. He's back a few seconds later and hands it to Eric. Eric fiddles with the phone for a few seconds and then smiles. "Well I guess my recruiter was right, they liked and want to make me an offer. Looks like I'll be moving to Beacon Hills in a few weeks. I still have to go back to Texas though."

Eric pauses and gets a faraway look for a moment. "What is it?" asks Derek sitting back in his chair. "Would one of you be willing to come back with me?" "I was just thinking that myself. One of us…. Well one of us that can do the pain sucky thing should go with him." Stiles offers standing and pacing around the room. We can't let him wander off on his own should he suddenly turn. What do we know about Fort Worth? Packs, hunters?" He looks at Derek. "Derek shrugs I've never been to Texas packs tend to stay away from the larger cities. Not enough open places to run. Doesn't mean there won't be packs or hunters though." "Hunters?" Eric asks. "They are uh one of the dangers we mentioned before you accepted the Bite." Isaac says. "Hunters kill werewolves. They think all of us are out of control animals that need to be put down. Some follow the "hunter's code" which essentially means they leave you alone so long as you don't hurt or kill humans." Derek says looking evenly at Eric. Eric asks "Some?" "Some hunters don't follow the code they kill first ask questions later. We've had dealings with both types." Stiles says softly looking at Scott who stares at the floor. "How long do you have to be in Texas, a couple weeks?" Derek asks. "Yeah I'll need to give 2 weeks' notice to my current company and finish packing." Eric winces slightly and touches his side where he was bitten. "Do you need me to…." Isaac reaches over but Eric waves him off with a soft smile. "No it's not that bad just throbbing a little bit. Um but yeah I can get a ticket for whoever would like to fly back with me." "You'll need to keep a low profile, don't go out unless necessary do you live alone?" Derek asks. "No I have a roommate but he's been told to be ready to move with very little notice. He's been on notice to move for 2 months so he can't really complain." Everyone but Eric notices Isaac stiffen with a slowly deepening frown at the mention of a roommate. Derek also frowns but says nothing. "Would you.." Eric starts turning to Isaac but he stops when he sees his stony expression. Isaac meets Eric's questioning eyes and his expression softens "Come with you? Of course." He puts his hand on Eric's shoulder. Eric says nothing but the wolves in the room pick up on the spike in anxiety from the man. "You'll get used to it." Jackson chuckles standing up. "Wolves are very touchy feely." Isaac pulls back his hand like he'd been burned. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." "No it's OK it's just….. I'm not used to….physical contact. I've never wanted to make anyone uncomfortable so I always avoid touching people." Eric finishes a little sheepishly. Scott asks somewhat confused "Why would you touching people make them uncomfortable?" Eric's heart races up again the scent of his anxiety and worry thick like a fog "I'm….. going to go lay down if you don't mind." Eric says struggling to his feet he limps over to the stairs and starts up without another word. Isaac jumps up and makes sure he doesn't fall down.

Once the door to the bedroom closes Stiles looks at Derek. "Well you don't have to be a wolf to know he got super uncomfortable all of the sudden." Shrugging and walking towards the kitchen Jackson says. "He's gay and worried that we'll hate him when we find out." "How do you know he's gay? Why would we care about that?" Scott asks looking at Stiles. "Well he _is_ from Texas and the south isn't exactly known for being open minded about alternative life styles." Stiles replies with a shrug. Scowling and in a voice barely more than a growl Scott says. "We need to make sure he understands we don't care about that. He is pack now. One of us." Jackson comes back in from the kitchen with a glass of milk. Stiles glares at him. "Make sure Jackson understands that." "What?" Jackson asks defensively. "My best friend is gay why would I care if he is?" "The way you were interrogating him made it seem like you weren't all that accepting of him being pack." Stiles retorts. Jackson shrugs and casually takes a drink of his milk before sitting down. "Well we needed answers it didn't seem like anyone else we going to push for information." "Just because he's not all grrrr aggressive doesn't mean he's gay." Stiles says making claws with his hands. "Oh he's gay trust me my gaydar is 100%. Not sure why his heart was about to explode though we need to keep an eye on him." Jackson shrugs. "Just try to be a little less douchy. He's skittish enough as it is." Stiles says standing and going upstairs.

"Are you ok?" Isaac asks Eric as he climbs in bed. Worried about the fear and anxiety emanating from the injured man. "Yeah I'm fine, just been a really long day you know?" Eric says grimacing as the pain begins to spike again "It's all going to work out remember we're here for you we're your brothers now." Eric closes his eyes nodding his head and gritting his teeth. "Is the pain back again?" Isaac asks quickly taking Eric's hand in his and pulling the pain out. Eric gasps softly before smiling up at Isaac. "You're better than any medication." Isaac smiles back at Eric's sleepy eyes. "Rest now we can talk more tomorrow yeah?" Eric frowns for a moment. "I'm not going to be human any more Isaac…" "Nope." Isaac says. "Does that bother you?" Eric thinks for a moment. "I'm honestly not sure if it does or not. It's not something I ever thought I'd need to think about." Isaac sits on the edge of the bed. "The Bite is a gift." He says making eye contact with Eric but speaking gently. "I was weak, scared all the time it gave me strength and confidence. Maybe a bit too much confidence at first I was a bit of a cocky ass hole when I was first turned. Honestly though I didn't miss anything about being human. I don't think you will either. I'll be right here by your side the whole time to help you through the rough spots. OK?" Eric's heart beat finally slows to a normal relaxed pace. Eric nods. His eyes blinking slowly. Moments later they close. As Isaac walks over to turn the light off he hears Eric mumble "Sweet puppy." Isaac smiles before turning off the light. Closing the door gently Isaac goes back down stairs to where the rest of the pack was about to devour the pizza that had just been delivered.

"Ok guys you know what time it is." Stiles says looking around the room. "PUPPY PILE!" Derek sighs deeply rolling his eyes. "Stiles..." "What dude come on it will totally help him heal faster. The faster he's healed the faster we can get some answers." "He's got a point Derek." Isaac says putting the last of the plates in to the dishwasher. Before heading upstairs and pulling his clothes off. Stripping down to his boxers he deftly slips under the covers about halfway before he stops and looks at Stiles and Derek who had just walked in and were staring at him. "What?" He asks. "Stiles grins at Isaac while also striping down. "Unusual to see you so…. Uhhhh eager to be in contact with anyone." Isaac shrugs and slips under the blankets next to Eric gently wrapping his arms around the injured man. A few minutes later he is joined by Derek who takes up position on the other side of Eric and Stiles who slips in on the outside. "Guys?" Isaac asks nervously. "I just thought of something. What do we tell him when he wakes up and..." "Finds himself in the middle of a pack sandwich?" Finish's Stiles with a smirk. "That's something I guess we should leave up to our leader." Derek sighs the sigh of a deeply tortured man. "I hate both of you." "You know you'd miss us terribly if we were gone." Stiles snarks while squirming to get in to a more comfortable position. "We'll just tell him it's for his own good and hope he doesn't think it's some kind of wild wolf orgy."

A while later just as they are about to drift off to sleep Jackson finally climbs the steps non too quietly. He stops at the door and takes in the site of Isaac and his Alpha on either side of a sleeping Eric. "If he is still human why are we doing this then?" Jackson asks skeptically. Isaac replies "It's helped Stiles before, besides he has some healing already and is on the pack bond." "Jackson" Stiles groans while squirming closer to Derek who is trying to act like he doesn't enjoy the attention." Less lip flapping and more puppy pile." Jackson frowns but quickly starts getting undressed. Scott arrives moments later and silently strips down to boxers and t shirt. After some scooching around the two new comers find places and after a while nearly everyone is asleep. Isaac and Derek both turn to look at Eric as he squirms and wakes up. Looking around bleary eyed. Isaac and Derek can sense his confusion. Derek is about to say something when Eric sighs deeply and frowns before his eyes close and he's asleep again. Neither Derek nor Isaac miss the flash of anxiety and loneliness in the air that dissipates slowly as Eric falls back to sleep. Derek reaches over and runs his hand over Isaacs's hair affectionately. "Get some rest pup I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be crazy." Isaac nods, glowing at the affection from his Alpha. He is soon fast asleep. Derek pulls Stiles a little closer who whimpers softly before squirming impossibly closer to Derek. He'd never admit it but he loves this. The calm comforting feeling from being with his pack. His family. Over the bond he can still feel the gentle but persistent pulsing from Eric. It's an unusual sensation. Pack mates are either there or they are not. With Eric it is like he is fading in and out. Derek hopes that Deaton has good news for them tomorrow. He had been thinking about expanding the pack but had not known the best way to go about doing it. Adding an older more experienced member could add some needed calm and balance to his young pack. He just hopes that everything is as innocent as it seems. Slowly carding his fingers through Stiles's hair Derek eventually closes his eyes and allows himself to fall asleep surrounded by the comforting scent of pack.


	6. Chapter 6

Jackson is the first to wake the following morning. Eliciting some groans and a growl or two as he slowly untangles himself and moves from the bed. Scott follows a few minutes later as the smell of coffee wafts in to the bedroom. Derek opens his eyes and looks around. Stiles is still huddled up close to him drooling slightly on the Alphas arm. He smiles warmly at the younger man. It had taken Derek years to convince himself that he deserved happiness and that he wouldn't be ruining Stiles's chance at a normal life. He'd ignored his feelings for years and even made several attempts to push the teen away.  He had never been able to bring himself to completely drive him away though.  He'd hoped once Stiles went off to college and met other guys, or girls that he'd lose interest and finally be safe.  Stiles apparently had other plans though and had been content to wait.  Always there, always helping where he could.  Finally though the ice around Derek's heart had melted just enough for him to wriggle his way in.  Once that happened Derek knew fighting was a lost cause.

He places a gentle chaste kiss on the younger man's forehead and turns to look at his new beta. He smirks at what he sees. Isaac and Eric are completely entwined in each others arms and legs. Eric certainly has the stereotypical physique of someone in the IT industry. While not huge he was a good 20-30 pounds overweight with a bit of middle age sprawl taking place. His thinning hair is graying at the temples. Despite what looks to be a good 10-15 year age difference Isaac seems completely content with the new comer having completely wrapped himself around the older man protectively. Derek can tell that the "puppy pile" had worked. He discerns by scent that the extent of Eric's injuries have diminished significantly. His sporadic were healing abilities and the packs group healing having combined to do several days worth of healing over several hours. Noting Eric's slowly increasing pulse he figures he will be waking soon.  Deciding it would be a good idea for Isaac to disengage from his mate Derek decides to wake Isaac. "Isaac." He whispers nudging the blond wolfs head gently. Isaac's eyes snap open and he smiles at his Alpha. "He's going to wake up soon you should probably…." Derek gestures with his head Isaac looks down and blushes deeply when he sees how he's wrapped around Eric. He gently untangles from the sleeping man and slips out of bed Eric frowning and shivering slightly at the loss of Isaac's warmth. "Go on down and help the others start breakfast. Stiles and I will be down in a minute." Isaac nods and leaves casting a glance down at Eric's sleeping form before leaving the room. Knowing from experience that waking Stiles before Stiles is ready results in flailing limbs and loud requests for "just 5 more minutes" Derek gently scoops his boyfriends limp sleepy form up in his arms and slides out of the bed. He carries him down stairs and deposits him gently on the couch. Covering him with a blanket after slowly escaping the younger mans sleepy grabby hands. Walking in to the kitchen Derek sees Jackson and Scott starting breakfast. He watches with a smirk as the two formerly combative young men move around each other effortlessly. Making easy conversation and occasionally brushing up against each other. He knows they would jerk away from each other and deny it so he smiles softly and moves to help them after sharing a knowing smile with Isaac.

Upstairs Eric's eyes slowly open. Blinking away the slumber a few times he looks around the room. It takes him a moment to remember where he was. The first thing that greets him is the ever present burning in his veins. This morning though it feels somewhat… diminished. Along with most of the aches and pains of his many wounds. Sitting up slowly he smiles to find that while still sore he's not wracked with pain. Feeling the urgent pressure from his bladder he slips gingerly out of bed remembering all too well how his last attempt to get to the restroom on his own had resulted in a faint. He stands albeit wobbly and walks slowly to the bathroom.

Downstairs in the kitchen Derek places his hand gently on Isaac's arm when he goes to rush up stairs upon hearing Eric's exit from the bed. "Give him a minute before you go up. He's healed up quite a bit but given the way his heart was hammering last night I don't want to spook him." Isaac lets out a pained whine but stays in his seat. "What's up with you and new guy anyway?" Jackson says from where he was preparing a mountain of bacon for the pack. Isaac doesn't say anything for a moment but when the normally arrogant Jackson turns and gives Isaac a genuine look of concern Isaac relents. "He's my mate." Jackson's eyes go wide. Scott drops the spatula he was using and whips around "Mate?!" he proclaims "Isaac that's awesome!" Isaac smiles sadly "Maybe I don't know it's…. strange different. Part of me wants to wrap around him and protect him while another part of me wonders if he feels the same way.. I.. I know it's different because he's not fully wolf yet but…. I don't know it seems very one sided. Maybe once he's out of bed and moving around…" Isaac lets the sentence hang and shrugs his shoulders. "More like you want to bend him over the counter and breed him until you both collapse." Jackson laughs imitating the scene while air humping an invisible partner. Isaac blushes fiercely at Jackson's crude display. Scott laughs and turns back to cooking having washed his spatula. "You do smell a bit…. excited dude…." Scott says looking over his shoulder at Isaac grinning.

"Someone want to explain to me why I went to sleep with my pack and woke up in the living room?" Stiles asks grumpily walking in to the kitchen rubbing his eyes. He casually brushes up against Derek on his way to steal some bacon and pour himself a cup of coffee. "I didn't think it would be good for Eric to wake up in a bed full of strange men." Derek offers. Smiling brightly when Stiles comes to sit by him silently offering the older man a piece of pilfered bacon. "That's cool I guess." Stiles says through a yawn laying his head down on the table. "Wake me up when he comes down." Derek reaches over and massages Stile's scalp for a moment smiling when Stiles lets out a low content "mmmmmm."

Upstairs Eric is cleaning himself as best he can. _Sure wish I could just take a shower.. Feel so gross._ He thinks to himself as he cleans around his multiple bandages with a soapy rag. Nearly done he hears a soft tapping on the door. "Eric, everything OK?" He smiles when he recognizes Isaac's voice. _Jesus he's so nice. "_ Yeah Isaac I'm just trying to clean up a bit um is there any way I could borrow some clothes maybe? Mine are pretty shot." "Yeah no problem I can lay something out for you on the bed. When you're ready if you want you can come on down. We're about to have breakfast." "OK I'll be down in about 5 minutes." Isaac smiles nodding and runs to his room. Being a bit taller than the older man Isaac skips jeans and settles instead for an old pair of sweat pants and his favorite old baggy shirt. Isaac grins, silently thrilled at the thought of his mate wearing his clothes. He goes back to the master bedroom and lays the clothes out for Eric before retreating to the kitchen. After cleaning up as best he can Eric emerges from the bathroom. Walking over to the bed with a towel around his waist he makes a thoughtful sound as he sees underwear and socks as well. "Hadn't expected that." He says to no one before shrugging and dropping the towel. Quickly dressing he puts the towel back in the bathroom before going down stairs. He pauses for a moment at the door and lifts up the shirt and sniffs. _Smells incredible._ Eric sniffs again before shaking his head and walking down stairs.

"Hey you look quite a bit better." Stiles notes as Eric walks in to the kitchen a shy expression on his face. "I feel much better slightly maimed instead of half dead." Isaac beams at him and jumps up "Come sit down and eat with us." He guides Eric over to the empty seat next to where he had been before sitting down himself. "Hey what kind of fabric softener do you use? This shirt smells amazing." Isaac's smile is brighter than the sun causing everyone at the table to smile as well. _He loves my scent… Not even turned and he loves my scent…._ "I'm not sure I'll have to look. I just use whatever is on the shelf."

Scott and Jackson having finished making breakfast begin piling bacon and eggs on plates and handing them out. _Wonder if the alpha eats first?_ Eric thinks idly as the plates are handed out. He notices no one else is eating. Looking to Derek he notices Derek looking at him. The Alpha's face holds no clue to his thoughts. After a moment Eric looks down slightly and clears his throat softly. "I'm uh.." Sensing his mates distress Isaac places a calming hand on Eric's knee "Derek I'm sorry if I don't know how to act. Is it rude for me to make eye contact? I don't want to be killed at the breakfast table for challenging my Alpha I… I was j…just waiting…" he stutters voice trailing off . He looks back up to see everyone else looking at him. Smelling his mates spiking anxiety and concern Isaac moves his hand to Eric's back and strokes him gently. A small smile forms on Derek's face before he finishes Eric's sentence. "Waiting to see if everyone else would wait for me to eat first. You're very perceptive." "Eye contact is totally OK dude. I do it all the time when I'm telling him he's being a stubborn sour wolf." Stiles says leaning back in his chair while messing with his phone. Derek growls a warning causing Eric to frown and tense slightly and look around to see how everyone else was reacting to the Alphas warning. Sensing the new wolfs distress Derek speaks up. "No it's actually rude to not look me in the eye. Much as it would be if I wasn't a wolf. So long as it's not a challenge (he briefly glares at Stiles) no offense would be taken. It shows respect that you waited until I started. I appreciate the gesture but I've yet to kill anyone at the breakfast table." Derek starts to eat and everyone follows suit.

After a few minutes without thinking Eric takes a piece of bacon off his plate and places it on Isaac's. Eric immediately notices everyone stills and looks up. Everyone else at the table is looking at him with varying emotions from happiness to surprise. "Why did you do that?" asks Scott. Eric pauses looking Isaac who was smiling warmly at him. "I.. uh well I don't know it just seemed like the thing to do? I'm sorry I don't know what came over me I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Isaac run his hand comfortingly down Eric's back. "You didn't do anything wrong, it just comes as a surprise to see you exhibiting wolfish behavior so soon." "Wolfish?" Eric asks. "Sharing your food with your..." Stiles pauses at Isaac's frantic look before changing course slightly. "….Someone in your pack is something wolves do it's really cool that you're showing instinct already is all." Eric seems to relax and nods his head. "OK" he says with a small smile. His expression not mirrored by the sudden uptick in the anxiety and uncertainty rolling off him. Isaac smiles at him again "It's OK really it's a cool thing to do we just didn't expect something like that so soon." Isaac pauses then the wolves in the room all turned towards the front of the house in unison. Eric looks to Stiles with a confused look on his face. "Werewolf hearing, someone's coming up the drive. Wait until the door bell rings and they run barking to the door." Stiles say snarkily failing to dodge the smack from Scott. "Stiles…" Derek says with exasperation. "Sounds like Deaton's car" Scott adds getting up to greet his boss.

Moments later Deaton joins them in the kitchen. "Have you had breakfast yet?" Stiles offers "Yes I did Stiles thank you for the offer." The vet replies politely. "I wanted to see how Eric was doing. Did your sleeping arrangements prove beneficial?" At Deaton's question Eric cocks his head to the side. "Sleeping arrangements?" "Oh uh. Ummm Stiles starts, you were kind of out of it last night and… well. It was decided that a puppy pile would help you heal faster." Raising his eye brows "Puppy pile?" Eric asks while Derek sighs deeply pinching the bridge of his nose. Isaac smiles and clears his throat to get Eric's attention "You're pack now, we can feel you on the pack bond. You know the saying strength in numbers? Well that's true with wolf packs too. One of the benefits is that if we are in close contact injured members of the pack heal faster. Even humans." Eric purses his lips. "So…." "Basically last night we all slept in the same bed in various states of undress purely for your benefit no sexual intent implied or otherwise please don't freak out you're pack now and we just wanted to help you." Stiles rambles out quickly. Eric smirks "So that's what that was about. I vaguely remember seeing a bed full of people at one point.. It's ok it obviously worked. Best nights sleep I have had in recent memory and I am much further along health wise than I was last night." "Good." Deaton says rising from his seat. "If you will excuse me I need to get back to the clinic." "Wait" Eric says "I can't stay here I have to go back to Texas at some point. I have a job there that I can't stay away from for the next two weeks. Is there nothing you can do to accelerate the process?" The vet shakes his head. "I'm afraid not your… condition if you will, is very rare and mostly without precedent. I was only able to find a handful of documented cases and the last one was over 100 years ago. No treatment was noted just that eventually the transition completed. One case indicated that the full moon seemed to accelerate the process. It is likely that as you get closer to the full moon you may have bouts of pain and weakness as your body attempts to fight off the transition. It won't be successful though. You will eventually become a wolf."

Eric slumps back in his chair. His anxiety apparent even to those without supernatural senses. "I'll come with you." Isaac says firmly. All in the room turn to him. "You can't go off on your own. If something happens and you suddenly turn you'll need a wolf there to control you. I can continue to take your pain until the transition is complete." Shaking his head "Isaac you've done so much already I feel bad taking you away fro.." He stops once he meets Isaac's eyes. For a moment nothing is said. Eric's eyes blink a few times before his head cocks to the side as they lose focus. A flash of emotion fills Eric. Warmth, caring, comfort, safety, hope, wonderment, but also pain, anguish, and despair. Eric's expression is blank as the emotions tear at him like an angry tide threatening to sweep him away. Suddenly he's being drug down a flight of stairs and being thrown in a heap at the bottom of them. He's pleading begging as his tormentor beats and kicks him. He is drug to a chest freezer and it terrifies him. His terror screams through him as he's slammed into the freezer and the lid is locked down over him. He pounds on the lid screaming and scratching against the lid as the small space seems to close in on him.

The next instant he chained to a wall in excruciating pain while a woman mocks and tortures him. He feels fury, guilt, shame, and disgust as her words cut through him while she electrocutes him again and again. Another flash and he's in a hospital room. He's holding the hand of a woman in the bed next to him. The steady tone of a flat lined heart monitor the only sound aside from his sobs and he's so sad so alone. He's completely and utterly devastated there is a tightness in his chest and he starts gasping for breath, everything starts spinning. Distantly he hears someone calling his name urgently. Suddenly he's back in the kitchen and Isaac is shaking him calling his name frantically. Eric staggers out of his chair and lurches towards the back door flinging it open he trips and ends up rolling down the steps in to the back yard. The pack flies after him. On all fours he lurches forward a few feet before retching violently. Derek and Isaac are instantly at his side trying to comfort him through the sobs and violent sick.

"ooo oh my god! Fuck." Eric manages to say between his sobbing and dry heaving. "Eric you have to breathe. Breathe!" Isaac begs trying to hold Eric's trembling shoulders. Derek sits on the ground behind Eric and pulls him in to his lap wrapping his arms around him. "Eric you're having a panic attack you have to breathe. Concentrate on my voice take deep breaths you have to get your breathing under control or you're going to pass out." "BREATHE!" Derek yells letting the power of his wolf to send the command over the pack bond. Gradually over the next couple minutes Eric's racing heart slows while his breathing becomes less frantic. Oxygen finally fully filling his lungs Eric eventually slumps back against Derek. He opens his eyes to see the rest of the pack looking at him worriedly. He shrinks under their gaze and tries to make himself as small as possible. They all catch the look of embarrassment on his face before he looks down. The wolves frown as they pick up on the bitter scent of shame and embarrassment coming from their new pack mate. "Hey." Eric hears and opens his eyes to see Stiles crouched in front of him. Whiskey colored eyes peering into his. "Eric, stop that." He says softly. He takes one of Eric's hands and rubs it gently. "We're pack, family. You don't need to be embarrassed. I used to have panic attacks all the time. That's how Derek was able to get you under control so fast." He shifts to sitting on the ground in front of Eric who is still coiled up in Derek's arms. Eric shakes his head to acknowledge what Stiles was saying. "Can you tell us what happened?" Eric shrugs a little. "I've never had a panic attack before. I've seen them and have known people to go through that but I never have. I saw….. I saw your mother." Stile's eye brows practically disappear into his hair line. "My mother?" "I don't know how to explain it. I think I saw some of your memories. You were in a hospital she had just died." He stops at the sudden frown and wet look in Stiles's eyes. "Somehow I just knew." "Stiles nods his head and wipes his eyes quickly." That was the day I had my first panic attack. "That's not all that I saw. I saw Kate." Derek stiffens behind him. "You were chained up she was torturing you. Mocking you over the death of your family…I.. I know what she did and and… and how she did it." Derek is frozen as if carved from stone. Eric can feel his heart pounding in to his back. "The first memory ….." He turns to look at Isaac. Isaac's eyes go wide when he realizes what Eric likely saw. Tears begin streaming from Eric's eyes again as he stares at Isaac. "Oh Isaac….how could a father…That you lived through that….. again and again…" Eric looks down at his fingers half expecting them to be bloody from clawing at the lid of the freezer. Eric looks back up and shakes his head eyes never leaving Isaac's as he cries for what his sweet, gentle pack mate had endured. Isaac crashes forward and pulls Eric free from a stunned Derek. "Shhhh shhhh it's OK it was a long time ago. Shhhh I'm so sorry you had to see that." he comforts gently rocking his mate.

"Is this normal?" Derek asks looking at Deaton. "Memory transfers are not unheard of among wolves. Typically there is a reason though, or some type of trauma. I have not heard of it happening spontaneously like this. It could be due to the tenuous hold he has on the pack bond. You said it felt as if it was fading in and out?" Deaton replies. "It is stronger today but still not consistent." "It feels like it's being stretched like a rubber band and then let go." Jackson provides. "I'll see what I can find out and let you know right away." With that Deaton is gone. Scott comes rushing out of the house with a glass of water and hands it to Eric. He takes it with a weak smile and tries to wash the vile taste from his mouth.

"Come on let's get you to bed." Derek stands and helps Eric to his feet. "No…. please I feel like that's all I've been doing. Can we just….. sit somewhere? I'm fine really." Derek looks at Isaac who had taken up the other side of Eric. "Living room?" Isaac suggests. Derek nods and together they ease Eric back towards the house. After a few steps the new wolf mostly able to walk on his own. They settle in to the living room. Isaac and Derek on either side of Eric on the big couch as the rest of the pack filters in to the room. After a few minutes Stiles Jackson and Scott take their leave all three making it clear that they are to be notified if anything happens.

"So… Texas huh? Guess I'll pack some shorts?" Isaac says. Eric exhales in amusement. "Yeah its triple digits there this time of year. Thankfully we'll only need to be there for two weeks." "So you're OK with me going?" Isaac asks. Eric meet's the young wolfs eyes and smiles. "Can't think of a better travel companion." Derek has a thoughtful look on his face. "Maybe Scott or I should come too." Eric _and_ Isaac both look at Derek. Isaac with a barely concealed look of annoyance. Eric with a look of trepidation. "There's really no need. I feel bad enough as it is taking Isaac away from everything." "Yeah Derek it's just a couple of weeks and packing you should stay here with the pack." Isaac says trying to communicate his displeasure through the pack bond. Derek frowns. He can tell both of his Betas feel strongly against him going but for different reasons. Isaac obviously wants to spend time alone with Eric. Eric is visibly pulling in on himself in embarrassment and anxiety over something. "What if something happens or you run in to trouble?" Derek says. "Nothing's going to happen we fly back pack up I finish work and we drive back. We can even rent a trailer to tow my car so we can ride together." Isaac grins brightly at the thought of a nice long road trip with his mate. Both Isaac and Derek can hear Eric's pulse climbing and look at him in alarm. "Are you OK? Isaac asks placing his hand on Eric's shoulder. "Your heart is beating really fast." Derek says. Eric visibly swallows. "I just… Feel bad I don't want anyone else to be bothered by my drama…. You know?" he finishes weakly. "I don't like you two going off so far away on your own, but I think you'll probably be OK." Derek says. "You're pack now, if there is anything you want to talk about you can come to me. You know that right?" Derek says gently. Eric nods his head "Thanks Derek." Isaac wanting to cheer up his mate and get his mind off of whatever is bothering him speaks up. "Up for a short walk? We don't need to go far, might be good to get out of the house for a little bit." Eric nods his head. "Yeah that sounds nice." Derek nods at the two and they walk out the front door and down the porch steps. Isaac with his hand on Eric's elbow to steady him. They walk slowly on one of the trails going in to the forest. "It's so beautiful here." Eric says "Not as safe as it should be though." Isaac says frowning as he remembers watching the Omega attacking Eric. "Yeah funny no one said anything about feral wolves trying to eat people on the Beacon Hills Wikipedia page.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the mess up at the end of chapter 6. I some how accidentally pasted from my other story into this one. opps!!
> 
> The way I write their "texting" probably isn't that great but it hopefully gets the point across.

**Flight 1165 to Dallas Fort Worth International would like to welcome its first class passengers aboard at this time.**

Eric and Isaac already standing near the counter both line up to board the plane. "You know you really didn't have to fly us first class." Isaac says worrying over the cost of the tickets. "There is no way I'm going to make you squeeze those long legs into a coach seat. _Knowing what he put you through I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're never in some small cramped space._ Besides you said you hadn't flown in a long time so we might as well make the most of it." "How are you feeling doing OK?" Isaac asks as they walk down the jet way towards the plane. "Getting pretty tired." He says eyes already a little droopy. "Well you can sleep as soon as you're in your seat." Isaac says bumping his arm in to Eric's gently. Once they are seated Isaac hands Eric the small pillow and unwraps the blanket for Eric and places it over the Eric's legs. Eric smiles at him sleepily. "You have got to be the nicest guy I've ever met." Yawning "Can't believe someone hasn't swept you up and married you yet." "Well hopefully it'll happen soon." Isaac says with a warm smile. Eyes closed Eric simply hums.

Shortly after the flight takes off Isaac looks over to see Eric's asleep. He can hear the relaxed beat of his heart and soft breathing. Smiling slightly he takes a moment to study his mates face. In sleep Eric looks much younger. His features relaxed and not as pensive. After another two "puppy pile" nights Eric was mostly healed up. His color had improved significantly and his enhanced healing had caused most of the bruises to fade. He had a slight discoloration on one cheek where one of the worst bruises had not quite faded away yet. As he admires the sleeping face Isaac feels his wolf stirring. As Eric had healed his wolf has been pacing back and forth wanting to mark and claim Eric as his. Eric had not helped the situation much as often Isaac would look at Eric to find him staring right back at him. When Isaac would have his back to Eric he could almost always feel his eyes on him. Isaac would feel warmth for him from his mate but also confusion sadness and loneliness. These darker feelings had made his wolf more difficult to restrain as it demanded they comfort and love their mate. There had been more food sharing and time spent sitting closely to one another along with slow quiet walks around the Hale property. Isaac's feelings for Eric were rapidly spiraling out of control. He could already say without doubt or question that he loved the older man only days after meeting him. Long talks and his enhanced senses allowing him to get to know Eric far quicker than a human could. He had heeded his Alphas warning though and not made any moves. There were still some questions about Eric that needed to be sorted out first. He seemed to be accepting of the whole "wolfie biz" as Stiles had called it but there was a near constant smell of unease and doubt coming of Eric that gave Isaac pause. Grinning he pulls his phone out and snaps a picture of Eric as he sleeps. He pulls the blanket up a little further on him and runs his fingers through his hair. The flight attendant catches his eye and smiles at him as he dotes on his sleeping mate.

A few hours later they were on the remote parking shuttle. "How far from the airport is your house" Isaac asks looking around at the city and traffic "About a 30 minute drive the traffic is not too bad this time of day." Eric is digging around in his back pack pulling out sunglasses and car keys. "Gum?" he asks offering Isaac a stick. "Can I have the spearmint instead?" the young wolf asks. Eric looks at him a moment. "Fancy wolf nose huh?" he says quietly with a smile reaching in the pack to retrieve the requested flavor. Isaac smiles back taking the gum resisting the urge to let his fingers linger on Eric's. Slowly the bus pulls to a stop "Red Cherokee" The driver announces. "That's us" Eric says standing and moving towards the front of the bus. Isaac frowns at the wince of pain from Eric when he hefts both of their suit cases and climbs down and out into the Texas heat. "Wow I like your Jeep this things mint" Isaac says appreciably. "Thanks" Eric says smiling "I had a hard time finding one that was in good shape. They stopped making them in 2001. I had to fly to Ohio to find this one." "How long have you had it?" Isaac asks as Eric opens the back and they load their luggage in. "Not too long. I had an older one that was totaled in the accident."

Parking toll paid they were soon on the highway headed to Eric's house. "So…" Isaac starts. Eric glances at him. "Hmm?" "You said something about a roommate the other day." Eric blinks for a moment casting a sidelong glance at Isaac. Unable to see Isaac's eyes behind his sun glasses he focuses on the slight frown marring his companion's handsome face. _Why is he so tense?_ "Craig? Yeah what about him?" "So he's OK with moving to another state?" Isaac asks evenly. "He's not coming." Eric answers with a chuckle. "Oh?" comes Isaac's surprised reply. "Yeah I gave him notice when I started looking for work out of state. I told him he could leave right away but that he didn't have to. Just that he may have to leave on short notice if I suddenly got a job some place. He doesn't have much stuff and has friends he can stay with." Eric explains sneering slightly as someone tries but fails to cut him off. "He didn't want to come with you?" Isaac probes. Eric shrugs, checking the mirror before changing lanes "Well we had talked about it. He says he hates Texas and wants to move but doesn't really seem to have the motivation to leave. His family is here, friends, girl friend.." "Girlfriend?" Isaac interrupts. "Yeah he's got an on again off again girl friend. She's OK I guess. Bit too college girl bubble head for my taste but I guess it helps him feel younger so he can pretend he's still 20." Eric says with an eye roll and a snicker. "So you two aren't together then?" Isaac asks hoping he didn't sound too hopeful. His wolf practically wagging its tail. "WHAT?!" Eric says with a loud laugh. "Craig is about as straight as they get. He's cool with my being gay… _Well that slipped out. Oh well I guess if he doesn't kill me or abandon me he doesn't care._ Eric pauses for a moment casting a worried glance at Isaac before continuing. "We've known each other for several years but no, there's nothing there." Isaac nods but doesn't say anything. He looks out the window doing his best to hide his huge grin. He pulls out his phone and types out a text.

To Stiles: Roommate not an issue, straight with GF. Eric Gay. 8D

From Stiles: DUDE! Told you that it would work out. Flight OK and what not?

To Stiles: We'll see things looking up. Flight was good first class baby. He slept most of the flight so adorable.

Isaac sends Stiles the picture he took.

From Stiles: He is a sweet heart. Go get em tiger or wolfie or whatever. Be careful/safe/check in or you and eye brows will have words.

Isaac snickers at one of many nick names Stiles has for Derek and sends him a quick text.

To Derek: Headed to Eric's house everything is going OK.

To Derek: OH he's gay btw, roommate str8 so. Yay for me

From Derek: Be careful

"Checking in?" Eric asks as they exit the highway. "Yeah just letting Stiles and Derek know we made it OK. I'm supposed to be in regular contact with them so they know we didn't get into any trouble." Isaac replies sliding the phone in his pocket. "Is it really likely we're going to have issues? I mean aside from maybe going to the grocery store it's just going to be work and then back home." Eric states waiting his turn to get through the 4 way stop. "You can never be too careful. Sometimes trouble just finds you." "Well here we are, nothing special." Eric says as they pull up to the modest one story home. Reaching to the visor on the passenger side Eric hits the button for the garage door and pulls inside once the door is open. "Wow what kind of car is that?" Isaac exclaims looking at the other car in the garage. Smiling Eric nods "It's a 03 Toyota Spyder. Lots of fun and pretty rare, they didn't sell that many." "I don't think I have ever seen one." Isaac says as he jumps out of the Jeep and leans down to look inside. Eric walks around the Jeep and tries not to stare at Isaac's perfect backside as he peers in to the window of the car. "You can have a seat if you want it's not locked I'm curious to see how you fit." Going around to the passenger side Eric slips into the seat as Isaac squeezes in behind the wheel. "It's a little snug but comfortable." He says. "I think if you were any taller you'd be pretty uncomfortable. I have a friend who is 6'5" and his knees come up to the dash. What are you 6'2 6'3?" Eric asks. "6'2 and a half ish Isaac says shrugging." _Every inch of you is gorgeous._ Eric thinks. After looking at the car for a minute and asking some questions Isaac pulls himself up out of the car. He notices Eric struggling a little to get out. "Are you OK?" He asks. Eric takes a deep breath "Yeah just getting tired." He takes a step and winces a little. Isaac opens his mouth to say something but Eric stops him. "No really I'm fine." Walking over to the back of the Jeep Eric stops suddenly putting his hand out to the Jeep to steady himself eyes closed with a sharp intake of breath. Isaac is at his side in an instant touching his arm and pulling the pain out. After a moment Eric lets out a stuttered breath and opens his eyes. "Thanks, I'd hoped that I could at least get us inside and comfortable before I had to ask for help I'm trying really hard not to be a burden I promise." "You don't have to worry Eric, it's part of the reason I'm here. OK now?" Isaac resists the urge to push the stray hairs off Eric's forehead. "Yeah I'm good. Be better when we're inside sitting down though." He walks down the driveway to check the mail. Watching his mate Isaac has the uncomfortable sensation of being watched. He feels a low growl from his wolf as he looks around. He sees a man standing in the yard next door staring at Eric and then at Isaac. Eric has his head down looking through the mail as he walks back to the garage. "Eric" Comes Isaac's tense voice. Eric looks up at Isaac and notes the tension in his frame. "Who is that?" Eric follows Isaac's gaze and for the first time notices his neighbor standing in the yard. "Hey Kevin." Eric calls out barely breaking his stride. Kevin waves but says nothing. Eric goes to the passenger side of the Jeep opens the door and hits the button on the remote to close the garage door. "That's just my nosy creepy neighbor." Eric says rolling his eyes and going back to the rear of the Jeep to get their luggage. "Does he always stand outside half naked?" Isaac asks with a shiver. "Unfortunately the ones you want to see half naked are never the ones outside in nothing but shorts that are 5 sizes too small." Eric snickers. After watching Eric struggle to pull his suit case out of the Jeep Isaac steps up and grabs both their suite cases. "Here let me you need to save your strength." Marveling at Isaac as he easily hefts both heavy suit cases Eric shakes his head and heads for the door that leads in to the house. "Man I wish things would hurry up so I could get sexy werewolf powers."

Once inside Eric waves his arms around. "So this is home. Or well where I have been living anyway. Nothing fancy. Three bedrooms 2 baths. I have the master and one of the bedrooms for an office. Craig has the other bedroom and the front room here. Through there is the living room and kitchen." Eric takes a step down the hallway to show Isaac when his knees buckle. There is a clatter as Isaac drops both suit cases and darts forward catching Eric before he falls down. "Think my battery's empty….so tired…" Isaac helps Eric upright. "Which is the master?" he asks helping Eric move forward. "Second door on the right." "OK I think maybe it's nap time." "Nap time sounds great I may have miscalculated my energy today. I'm really sorry Isaac…" Eric mumbles. "You did great don't worry about it." Isaac gets the door open and lays Eric down on the bed. Eric is mostly asleep. Isaac pulls his shoes off and sets them out of the way when he hears Eric mumble. "don't go please…. Sleep better when you're there" Isaac practically preens as happiness floods though him. He kicks his shoes off and climbs on the bed pulling Eric close. He feels Eric relax with a barely audible "perfect" moments later he was asleep. Isaac buries his nose in the juncture between Eric's shoulder and neck and inhales deeply. Feeling the warm comfort and satisfaction brought on by being with his mate wash over him he is soon asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Isaac is woken several hours later by the sound of the front door opening. He deftly untangles himself from Eric and slips from the bed and moves to see who has entered the home. A moment later the light in the hallway is turned on and someone walks in to Eric's bedroom. "Hey Eri… Who are _you."_ The new comer asks coolly. "I'm Isaac, I'm guessing you're Craig?" Isaac says offering his hand. "So….." Craig says giving Isaac the once over "I'm guessing you're the reason he's dropping everything and going halfway across the country?" crossing his arms and glaring at Isaac distastefully. Isaac drops his hand to his side and bites back a growl his wolf tensing at the challenge. "No I'm just a friend, Eric found a job in my town I came back with him to help him pack." "Just a friend?" Craig scoffs. "Eric doesn't sleep with 'friends'" He says complete with air quotes. Isaac shrugs "We're both fully clothed, big bed, long trip we were tired. I can close the door if it bothers you. I was about to take my pants off to be honest it's warm in here." Isaac is confused by the jealousy and unhappiness radiating from "straight" Craig. He fights the urge to flash his eyes and growl MINE but he pulls back on the wolf.

"He's a little old for you don't you think? Looking for a sugar daddy?" Isaac is stunned speechless not expecting to be having an encounter like this. "What game are you playing?" Isaac moves in to Craig's personal space and looks down at the shorter man. "I'd really rather not wake him up why don't we go in the other room and _discuss_ your concerns." Isaac leans forward menacingly but Craig doesn't back down. Instead he chuckles "I don't want Eric mad at me for bruising his boy toy." At that he backs out of the room and with a final glare walks down the hall. Isaac closes the door, then locks it for good measure. They had another day before Eric had to go back to work and he wanted him rested up. Turning the ceiling fan on Isaac quietly strips down to his boxers. Pulling Eric's shirt and pants off as well. He looks in the closet inhaling the concentrated scent of his mate before grabbing a couple of larger looking shirts. He slips one on himself and then gently tugs one on Eric. He wants nothing more than to cuddle his mate naked but knows that would lead to far more invasive activities that are a long way off. He knew Eric liked his company but wasn't about to try and force a relationship on him. Still the image of Eric straddling him head thrown back in ecstasy with Isaac's hands on his hips flashes through his mind. Isaac takes a deep breath calming his arousal before he slips in bed behind Eric wrapping himself around the sleeping man protectively and pulls the blanket over them both.

 _What the hell was that?!_ He thinks to himself. _He was acting like a jealous boyfriend._ Isaac was startled by the waves of jealousy and resentment that were rolling off of Craig. Something wasn't right. Eric has pretty explicitly stated that Craig was straight. Isaac had detected no lie. He is also not able to detect any scent of Craig in Eric's bed, Craig's scent was barely even detectible in the bedroom. Isaac can hear Craig moving around the house. More like stomping around the house. A few minutes later he hears the door slam followed shortly by a car door slamming and then the sound of a car tearing off down the street. Isaac shakes his head minutely. Just then Eric squirms a little and pushes himself back against Isaac. Isaac leans forward a little and places a quick gentle kiss on the back on Eric's neck. "mmmm" Eric hums softly in his sleep.

Derek and Stiles are sitting on the couch with the rest of the pack lounging around the room watching Return of the Jedi when Derek stiffens slightly and gets a faraway look in his eye. "What's wrong?" Stiles asks. "Nothing." Derek replies with a small smile. "Isaac… He's very content. Just about to fall asleep. He was feeling agitated a few minutes ago but nothing bad and it went away pretty fast." "I wish I could feel them. I don't like them being so far away." Scott says. "I stopped being able to feel them on the bond about an hour after their plane left. I don't like it." Jackson adds. "Can you feel Eric?" Stiles asks. "Yes" Derek says nodding. "He's been asleep for a while. He was pretty exhausted." "I don't blame him." Stiles says shifting on the couch to put his head in Derek's lap. "He's been through an awful lot in the past few days. Hopefully he and Isaac are enough of a puppy pile to help him finish healing." "We can always go to Texas." Scott offers. "No." Derek says shaking his head. "Eric is very independent. He already feels bad that he has to have Isaac with him to manage his pain. I offered to come and he was quite adamant that he didn't want anyone else to go. He's embarrassed at not being able to do it on his own." "But what about "I'm the Alpha" Scott asks doing a poor Derek impersonation. Derek pokes stiles in the side when he starts snickering. "Eric's new to the pack and while he didn't say it I could sense that he was worried we wouldn't let him leave. I needed to let him know we trust him." "What like "sorry you know too much you can't ever leave the house? That sounds a little dramatic." Jackson gruffs from where he's laying on the floor. "That's the impression I got." Answers Derek. "He has some conflicting emotions going on but I didn't get any feeling that he meant us or Isaac any harm.

Scott shakes his head a little and says. "I think he's attracted to Isaac and is worried he will find out and won't be his friend anymore." Jackson snorts. "Little does he know he's far more likely to find himself bent over the nearest flat object while Isaac claims him." "I've never smelt or felt emotions that strong from Isaac before. I was starting to think he had turned asexual after everything when he first turned he never really showed any interest in sex after..." Scott adds letting the sentence hang while the rest of the group remembers what had brought an end to Isaac's aggressive behavior. "Isaac's not going to force himself on Eric. He wants Eric to like Isaac for Isaac not because of the mate bond." Derek says quietly gently massaging Stiles scalp listening to the humans heartbeat as it slows. "There should be no problem there. Isaac is a great guy super nice very caring. Eric would be crazy to not fall in love with him. Especially with all the attention Isaac is sending his way." Scott says squirming slightly on the couch to get more comfortable. "Hopefully they both figure each other out soon before this turns in to some kind of drama." Jackson says stretching and looking up at the sudden clatter as the remote that Stiles had been holding falls from his hand. They all chuckle as Stiles starts to snore softly.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning Isaac wakes to a stiffness pressed up against his back side. Squirming slightly and opening his eyes he realizes that during the night their usual sleeping positions had shifted and Eric had his arms wrapped around him as the "big spoon" and had a bit of morning excitement pressed firmly against his bottom. Isaac closes his eyes and bites his lower lip to prevent himself from grinding back into his mates hardness. Something sounding remarkably like a low growl comes from Eric as he grinds gently against Isaac. With a start he also realizes he can pick up the faint scent of wolf coming from Eric. Not as strong as it should be but definitely there. With another low growl Eric thrusts again. It takes all of Isaac's control to not straddle his mate and ride him to release then throw his legs over his shoulders and fuck him in to the mattress claiming him right then and there. The desire to mark and claim Eric had been increasing each day. His wolf not understanding why it's taking so long to claim what was theirs. Isaac slowly pulls out of Eric's grip careful to not wake him. He tries to hold on tighter but Isaac having become quite deft at untangling himself from Eric over the past several days manages to escape his grasp. His vacating the bed eliciting a pitiful whimper from Eric at the loss of body heat and friction on his member. Isaac's head is swimming with desire. He looks down at his mate and inhales deeply the intoxicating scent of his mate's arousal. He can see Eric's cock straining against the fabric of his boxer briefs. His enhanced senses allowing him to not only smell but see his mate's wetness. Isaac stumbles back away from the bed and over to the bedroom door. . He also notices for the first time that it's swelteringly hot in the house and he's covered in sweat. He pulls the t-shirt off and drops it on the bed before walking down the hall to check the thermostat.

Still reeling from the scents coming from his mate Isaac doesn't even register the other heartbeat in the house. He stumbles out in to the living room and stops dead in his tracks when he sees Craig standing there. Craig takes in Isaac's nearly naked form and smirks at the sight of Isaac's straining erection. "Just friends you said?" Isaac looks down and blushes a deep scarlet. Doing his best to shrug it off "Surely you've woken up with one of these before. I just came to see why it's so hot." Craig quirks an eye brow. "I must have accidentally turned the heat on, it was cold when I came in. I thought I just bumped it up." Isaac glares at Craig at the obvious lie. "It's set to 85 and it's July I don't see how that could be an accident. Are you and I going to have a…." Isaac starts when he's interrupted by Eric. "Holy shit balls is the heat on? Why's it so hot in here." He grouses coming in to the living room rubbing his eyes. He looks as Isaac and visibly gulps. _Oh my GOD he's even more beautiful half naked._ Eric stands for a second starting at Isaac's sculpted physique. Perfectly defined arms and chest. Strong muscular legs. Giant throbbing…. "Oh hey. Uh boner town.. Isaac uh you should cover that up not in front of the kids OK?" Gesturing to Craig Eric takes his shirt off and tosses it to Isaac who has quickly dropped his hands to cover his excitement. Both Isaac and Craig stare at shirtless Eric. After turning the AC back on he turns to them and notices their stares. "What?" "Have you been working out?" Craig asks. Eric looks down in confusion and is stunned to see the gut he'd been carrying around for years had flattened considerably and the "moobs" he'd been working to exercise off were gone and replaced with slight but defined pecs. His shoulders and arms were also showing a tightness and definition that had been lacking earlier. "uhh yeah I've been really pushing it lately." He finally manages to stammer out. "You didn't look like that before you went on your trip, also you've got more hair than before" Craig says. "What do you mean? I'm as smooth as I always was." Eric says running his hands over his chest. Looking up he sees Craig pointing to his own hair. Eric reaches up and runs his hands through a lot more hair than should have been there. Eric looks to Isaac panicking slightly but the sight of Isaac's tall body looking like it had been carved from marble didn't help. _Jesus… So perfect._ Feeling his dick start to inflate Eric decides a retreat is in order. "Oh it's not that much of a difference besides it's not like I wander around half naked all the time like you do right? It's been a long time since you've seen me without a shirt." Scrubbing his hand through his hair again. "Oh yeah I was going to tell you I tried this new shampoo it makes it look thicker but nothings really changed. Shit is it noon already I need to go take a shower Isaac and I need to go get something to eat you want to come with us? No you probably have something to do with Beth. I'm uh going to go now Isaac can you come help me?" Eric rambles grabbing Isaac by the arm and hauling him after him. "You need him to help you in the shower?" Craig yells from the kitchen. His answer is Eric's bedroom door slamming shut.

"Holy FUCK Isaac what am I going to do?" Eric whines looking in the mirror and yanking gently at his hair. "Do about what? You look great." Isaac replies neutrally. "That's just it. I can't look great. Two weeks ago I was 30 pounds overweight, balding, graying, and blind without my…." Eric stops and pulls his glasses off squinting at the mirror. "OK well for some odd reason I'm still blind without my glasses. People at work are going to notice and ask questions. Crap Isaac we're supposed to be keeping a low profile. GOD I look so young!" Leaning towards the mirror Eric is tugging and pulling at his face. Unable to bear his mates anxiety any more Isaac wraps his arms around him and puts his chin on Eric's Shoulder. Locking eyes with him in the mirror. "Shhhh it's OK we'll figure it out don't be so upset." Nuzzling his nose in the crook of Eric's neck Isaac sniffs gently. Isaac's eyes snap open when he catches the smell of Eric's renewed arousal. "Isaac uhh.. Please _please_ don't freak out but I need you to put some clothes on or something. I uh.. well you know I'm gay and normally I have plenty of control but I'm insanely horny this morning for some reason and. Ummmm. You're driving me crazy and I like you and don't want you to be mad or hate me or be disgusted so please stop?" Eric looks down at his suddenly incredibly interesting sink radiating shame and disappointment. Isaac's wolf whines at Eric's discomfort while he nods and is about to step out of the bathroom when he stops and says looking back at Eric in the mirror. "I'm sorry, you're pack my first instinct is to comfort you when you're upset. If it makes you feel any better though you're not the only gay man in this bathroom." Eric's head raises and they lock eyes again. "Figures, you're way too cute to be straight. You don't need some creepy old dude getting turned on by you though." Isaac turns Eric around to see him face to face. "You think I'm cute?" He says with a small smirk on his face. "Cute, beautiful, perfection, whatever I refuse to believe I'm the first person who's ever told you that you should be a model."

Isaac's cheeks blush slightly at the compliment from his mate. "You know you're not some creepy old dude right?" Eric snorts "Isaac I'm old enough to be your.." at Isaac's raised eye brow Eric continues "fathers uh younger friend…" Isaac chuckles and backs out of the bathroom giving Eric another smirk before turning to stopping down to pick up his clothes. "Age is not really a big thing with us do you know how long wolves live?" "huh? Are you saying we're immortal like vampires? Are they even real? Are you like 80 or something?" Eric says eyes growing larger with each question. Isaac laughs and if that isn't just the most beautiful sound. "No we're not immortal, yes vampires are real although I've never seen one, I'm 27. Barring any uhh outside interference the typical bitten werewolf can expect to have a life span of a little more than double that of a human. So by wolf standards we're both pups." Isaac finishes and he slips his shirt on having already slipped back in to his pants. "Oh…" Eric says practically buzzing with nervous energy and horny desire. Isaac had noticed Eric was not so subtly holding a bathrobe in front of himself. "I'm going to take a shower, you can use the one in the hall if you want, there is stuff here in the cabinet so you don't' have to use Craig's, brute collection. With that Eric practically throws a bottle of body wash and shampoo at Isaac and slams the bathroom door. Isaac laughs again and goes to leave when his phone beeps with an incoming text message from Derek.

From Derek: Everything….. OK?

To Derek: Yes the bite has progressed a little more. He smells a little bit of wolf, has lost weight and looks about 10 years younger.

From Derek: I can feel him more than yesterday. As well as.. other things.. Remember what we talked about… Be careful.

From Stiles: DUDE WTF are you doing you're BOTH flooding the pack bond with sex feels. Even I can feel how horny you two are for each other.

Isaac turns bright red and replies quickly going to the hall bathroom as he hears the water start in Eric's bathroom.

To Stiles: You guys can feel that from this far? I can't feel any of you. It's hard Stiles my wolf isn't going to be able to stay away much longer. The more he becomes wolf the harder it is.

From Stiles: Only Derek could feel you guys then like 5 minutes ago BAM Isaac and Eric horny times. Hard you say? I'll bet :) gtg Derek is dragging me in to the shower.

From Jackson: Lahey will you fuck him already. I'm going to make you pay for my therapy for having to think about you mounting the new guy.

Isaac chuckles and strips down quickly he's about to start the shower when he hears Eric's heart rate increase. For a moment he's alarmed until he also picks up the sound of Eric's hand stroking wet skin. His wolf whines pitifully as his control cracks. Catching himself in the mirror he sees his eyes glowing bright yellow as he partially shifts. He grabs a hold of the counter and grips it to keep himself from rushing in to Eric's shower and fucking him in to the wall. He frantically pulls his aching member free of his underwear and begins stroking. His strokes keep time with Eric's. In the other room he can hear Eric's breathing picking up almost panting. As he hears his mate drawing closer to climax Isaac increases the tempo of his feverish stroking. Just as Eric begins grunting deeply obviously fighting to keep quiet Isaac ejaculates fiercely biting down on his lower lip to keep from crying out as thick ropes of semen spray out coating the mirror and vanity. Fighting to get his breathing under control Isaac pants softly quickly grabbing a towel and cleaning up his mess. Still listening to Eric's accelerated breathing and heart rate Isaac turns the shower on and slips in.

In the other bathroom Eric is leaning forward in the shower with both hands braced on the wall, water cascading off of his head and down his back. Having just had one of the most intense orgasms in recent memory he is stunned to see that he is still quite hard. Smirking at his bobbing penis Eric start rubs some shampoo in his hair and starts to clean himself off. _Holy shit losing weight, getting my hair back, and the sex drive of an 18 year old. This werewolf stuff is alright._ Eric goes through his usual shower routine deviating a couple times to get off two more times just to prove to himself that he could. Little did he know less than 10 feet away in the other bathroom his mate was matching him stroke for stroke. Isaac waits in the bathroom after he hears Eric finish listening as Eric moves about the bedroom. Once he hears him slipping clothes on Isaac knocks softly on the door "Can I come in?" he asks. "Sure" comes the reply. "Ready to go get something to eat?" Isaac asks. "yeah I am _starved_." Eric replies as he ties the laces on his shoes. "Are you feeling better, you seemed a little freaked out." Isaac asks trying to ignore the mesmerizing scent coming from Eric's shower. "Yeah I am I think probably because so far the changes have all been pretty positive. I mean part of me is like wow cool fountain of youth, but the other part of me is waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop." "I know what you mean I kind of went through the same thing right after I was tur.." Isaac cuts off and looks towards the door having heard Craig come to a stop just outside. He gestures at the door and mouths "Craig" at Eric. Then continues "turned down for a transfer. Once I got used to it being smaller than LA though it was OK." Eric nods impressed at how Isaac had been able to segue from one topic to another so that what had just been said would make sense to an eavesdropper. "Well let's get out of here." Eric says a little louder than normal and jiggles the door handled a bit before pulling the door open hearing Craig's bedroom door close just as he opened his.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is where I change the typically "accepted" werewolf mythology as far as abilities go. Don't worry nothing dumb. I just wanted to make them a little.....more

Seated in the restaurant Isaac looks at Eric. "So you're really ready to pack up and leave Texas behind huh?" Eric takes a drink of his water and nods. "Absolutely. I've been here my whole life and I'm past ready to go…. Nothing here but bad memories." Isaac hesitates a moment before proceeding. "Before, you said something had happened that sent you on a downward spiral. Can I ask what that was?" Eric's face clouds and his mouth settles in to a firm line as he looks down at the table. His heart starts racing and Isaac's nearly pushed out of his chair by the wave of sadness and anger from Eric. "It's OK" Isaac says quickly. "If it's too personal you don't have to tell me. I was just curious." Eric exhales loudly through his nose. "I have a hard time trusting people. When someone betrays me not only does the betrayal hurt but the fact that I put myself in a position to be done wrong hurts as well. I feel like I should have known better. Some details of my life are personal… Private, and are kept to myself. Craig is the only person that knows. It's pretty sad that he's my closest friend but he's a "dude" so he doesn't do "feelings". "Eric says with air quotes "So what I'm working to in a roundabout way is saying that I trust you. I don't know why I do but you have a way of calming me almost instantly. I feel safe with you and I feel that I can trust you with just about anything." Isaac's happiness is practically beaming out his eyes that his mate feels this way. "What happened to me on the surface isn't really that unusual or unheard of. It's humiliating for me because I didn't know better so I would appreciate it if you'd keep the details to yourself. It's not anything that would endanger the pack so there's no reason for it ever to go beyond us. OK?" "I'm honored by your trust and you should know I feel exactly the same way about you. You calm me" then in a lower voice "and my wolf." Eric's face brightens some and the sadness he'd been broadcasting tones down a little bit.

"OK well I've had several relationships over the years. Some were short, some lasted a few years. My last one… Well in the beginning it was amazing. He was everything I thought I could ever want. Kind, generous, smart, funny, handsome. Our relationship was a partnership. Everything just fell in to place so easily. Honestly for the first time in my life I was truly happy. He put up with my trust issues, and never did anything to make me doubt him. After 6 months we moved in together, after a year we bought a home together. My first indication was that he said he'd never bought a home before yet during the process he seemed very familiar with it. I asked him about it and he said he'd helped his mom and sisters when they bought their homes. It was an instant, non rushed honest sounding explanation. I never thought about it again. He traveled for work so he'd be gone 2-3 days a week. We lived in the house for a year and everything was great. One day he came home and hung his coat up in the hall and went to take a shower. A phone in his coat started ringing. It wasn't his normal ring tone and whoever it was kept calling back. After the 3rd or 4th call I finally went and pulled the phone out. It wasn't a phone I recognized." Isaac's face that had been getting darker and darker as Eric had talked pulls in to a big frown as his heart broken mate continues his story. "I answered and a woman was asking for Cole, my.. his name was Cole. I said that he was in the shower and could I let him know who was calling… His wife, she says….I don't remember anything of the conversation after that aside from me telling her I'd let him know she called. I was standing there holding the phone when he came in to the room. He didn't say anything for a moment. Just looked at me and then as if nothing was wrong "I forgot to turn it off huh?" I told him his wife would like him to give her a call. We just stared at each other. He was completely devoid of any emotion. After what felt like hours but was probably just a couple of minutes of us staring at each other while I cried silently I handed him his phone told him he should call her back because it sounded important. I went in to my office got my laptop keys and wallet and went to leave. All he said was "I've lost you haven't I." Not I'm sorry, Not I can explain, Not please forgive me. Not please don't leave…" At this point Eric shakes his head as tears start to fall from his eyes. "It was like he'd lost a video game he was playing. Like it was nothing…Like ….. Like I…I was nothing…I told him I was going to a hotel for the night and that he'd have an email from me by morning with how I'd like us to split up the property. That was it.. He let me walk out without another word. I went to the hotel and emailed him after I'd cried and drank a few bottles of wine. I told him all I wanted was what I'd brought in to the house. Anything he'd bought for me he could have or sell, I told him I didn't want back anything I had bought for him. I told him I wanted the house sold, if it couldn't be sold we'd use an agency to rent it out and split the profits. It took about a month to a month in a half for it to really hit me. That the 3.5 years I'd spent with Cole had been an utter waste of time, and like a giant hoax. Who knows how many other people he'd done that too. He never once offered any kind of an explanation, or apology. The house sold, I only saw him one other time at our lawyers office. I was absolutely destroyed."

Eric takes a deep breath and wipes the tears from his face. Isaac put's his hand on Eric's knee under the table and says "I'm so sorry that happened to you. You're way too good a person to be treated like that." "Well apparently Cole didn't think so, thankfully when he left he was gone for good. Never heard from him again, which in hindsight was good. At the time though I was so upset that I had fully invested myself in this farce and he didn't care, didn't care at all. When the game was up he just walked away. To be completely and utterly fooled like that Isaac.. It humiliated me once the shock wore off that's when the embarrassment really set in. After that I really didn't care about anything. I focused on work, went home drank myself in to a stupor and passed out most every night. I went from a gorgeous brand new home with someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with to what you see me in now with an emotionally stunted straight guy who refuses to grow up." Eric shakes his head. "It's like he was acting, he was so caring and romantic and loving, but as soon as he saw me with that phone it's like a switch was flipped and he was a stranger." "You ready to get out of here it's getting a little more crowded than I like." Isaac had felt like they were being watched a few times but had been unsuccessful at finding any threats. As they paid and left they both missed the glare coming from the man sitting in the corner booth who'd been staring at them through one of the many decorative mirrors on the wall.

Back in the Spyder and driving Eric looks at Isaac. "Did you get the feeling like we were being watched or is paranoia one of the draw backs of our wolfy condition?" Isaac smirks "Well we do have an enhanced sense of awareness, and yes I got the feeling we were being watched but was never able to figure out who it was." "It was probably that waiter trying to work up the courage to give you his phone number." Eric says dryly. "Oh I don't think he had to work up to anything he seemed pretty bold as it was. I think I made it clear I wasn't interested though."

They drive in silence for a bit "Hey want to go for a walk?" Isaac looks at Eric for a moment. "Sure if you're not getting too tired." "I want some air to help get me out of my bad mood." Isaac frowns "I'm sorry I asked you about it I really didn't want to upset you." "It's OK it is nice to be able to tell someone. Craig knows some of the details but not all of it. He's never seemed too interested beyond saying "man what a fucking dick" when I told him." Eric just shakes his head and shrugs. Isaac feels a flash of anger at how lonely and isolated Eric's life must be. They pull up to a small park and get out of the car. Walking down the nature trail Eric says "So… on the lighter side of things.. What does this change mean for me?" You want the good or the bad?" Isaac asks casually looking to see if anyone was within earshot. "Let's go with the good first that way I'll have something to help balance the bad out with." Eric replies with a small grin. "OK well you already know about the life span. Your typical wolf will go 160-170 years pretty easily. Some get to 200 but it doesn't happen that often and typically those are born wolfs, they tend to live a little longer but not much.. We're able to live so long because of the healing abilities of the wolf. It's constantly regenerating damaged cells. That means that instead of our bodily systems becoming less efficient and eventually breaking down they continue to function optimally or in some cases far beyond their original design. The only reason it's not a longer span is that eventually the wolf ages. As the wolf ages it loses the ability to keep everything healed. At that point we start to age more normally. Usually about 140-150 the wolf is pretty weak and we start to age more rapidly. Once the wolf dies we're essentially in bodies that have lasted well beyond their expected expiration date. Things accelerate pretty quickly at that point and well you can guess the rest." Eric has a thoughtful look on his face. "It sounds sad, the wolf dying must be like a part of you going missing. I guess it's the price we have to pay for the extra time though." "Yes it's all pretty predictable since we don't get sick it's not like it is with humans. We pretty much know that we'll make it to a certain age and what will start to happen at certain times." "Wait we don't get sick?" Eric asks stopping Isaac and looking at him. "No, we're immune to all human sicknesses and diseases." Isaac smiles at the surprised look on Eric's face. They start walking again "That's just wow.. To never have a cold, or allergies again. To never have to worry about cancer or Alzheimer's or STDs…." Isaac nods and continues. "Some people view the Bite as a curse. Yes there are downsides but honestly it's a gift Eric. Enhanced senses, hearing, sight, smell, taste, etc. We're much stronger, faster, heal quicker. Pretty much everything physical that a human can do we're able to do significantly better."

"I wonder if I'll get the abilities a little at a time over the next couple weeks or if it'll just be all at once." Eric asks running his hands through his thickening hair. "I'd say a little bit at a time you already have enhanced hearing. I've been pretty much whispering for 5 minutes." Eric looks at Isaac and smiles. Isaac smiles back loving the way his mates smiles warms his heart. "OK" Eric whispers back. "So I can kind of understand the weight loss, but why is my hair growing back?" Isaac thinks a moment then answers "When we are bitten the venom I guess we can call it looks at our DNA. Our DNA knows everything about how we are supposed to be. Color of our eyes, our hair, how tall we will be etc. It also has the I guess you could say blue print of how our bodies should be. The Bite looks at that and restores the body to 100%. So if you're injured or ill the Bite will heal you. It doesn't just stop there though. Any scars or deviations from the blue print will be gone. One way to look at it is the foundation for a house. Your human body being the foundation and the new or enhanced abilities being the structure. So your body at 100% has a full head of beautiful light brown hair." Isaac reaches out and brushes his hand through it smiling when he hears Eric's heart speed up. "Our metabolism is about far more efficient than a human's. That means once you're at full strength you'll have whatever your DNA feels is the correct amount of body fat and no more. Your muscles will grow quite a bit too." "OK" Eric says smiling. "That's all pretty amazing sounding. So I guess that means the bad parts are pretty bad huh." Isaac moves his head a little thinking about how to answer. "Well, the worst is hunters. So long as no one knows you're a wolf you're typically safe from them. Like we said most hunters will leave you alone so long as you don't hurt anyone, but some will kill you just for being what you are." Eric sighs shaking his head. "What else?" "Well having to live in secret, never being able to reveal your true nature to people. It can be lonely at times. Even with the pack… Having to keep secret what you are can be a real burden." Eric snorts "Sounds like being gay in Texas. You keep it to yourself or you'll get harassed, fired, or worse." Isaac puts his arm around Eric briefly " I would never let anyone do that to you." Eric smiles warmly at Isaac and they continue on in silence. "Your first few full moons…. You'll need to be restrained.." Eric nods his head. "I guess until I learn control right?" Isaac says "Yeah exactly. It typically takes 2-3 full moons before you have enough control to resist it. Until then though your wolf takes over and people can be hurt or killed very easily. They walk on in silence for a few more minutes until the trail ends back at the parking lot. "Good I was starting to get tired." Eric says with a chuckle. They climb in the car and pull out on to the street.

Isaac pulls out his phone out to check in.

To Derek: Eric's hearing has started improving. Everything OK

From Derek: Good to know. Be careful.

"How many moons did it take you?" Eric says Just as a large pickup truck cuts around them and forces them off the road.

"Holy crap what the FUCK!" Eric yells trying to keep the car out of a ditch. Narrowly missing a light pole the small sports car comes to a stop right at the edge of the steep embankment. "Are you.." Eric ask reaching for Isaac only to stop and pull back with a gasp. Isaac's gripping the door handle completely wolfed out, eyes glowing. "There is NO WAY that was an accident" He growls though elongated teeth. "They are gone Isaac… come back… please." The last word is practically a whimper causing Isaac ti whip his head around at the spike of fear coming from his mate. Human features returning immediately. "Please don't be scared of me Eric. I would never…. could never…. _ever_ hurt you." Eric shakes his head silently. Eyes like saucers. Trying to calm his rabbiting heart beat Eric takes a deep breath and lets it out. "I know I'm safe with you Isaac it's just… The last time I saw a face like that it was trying to rip my throat out…" "I'm sorry.. Uh.. you want me to get out?" Isaac gestures with his thumb over his shoulder pointing to the door. "What?! No I'm not going to leave you on the side of the road just because I'm a big baby." As Eric pulls back on the road and continues heading towards the house Isaac's phone beeps with an incoming message. "It's Derek."

From Derek: What's going on you were angry.

To Derek: Someone ran us off the road we are OK.

A moment later the phone rings. "Hello?" Isaac answers knowing its Derek. "Ran you off the road? Do you know who it was?" Derek asks. "No we didn't really have a chance to see much more than this giant truck nearly putting us in the ditch. It was on purpose, but they didn't stop. I think if they were hunters they would have tried harder. Probably just someone being an ass." "I don't like this you're too far away, too unprotected. I should never have sent you there alone." Derek states angrily. "Derek we're fine it was just some hill billy being a jerk. You don't need to worry." Isaac says trying to comfort his jumpy Alpha. "Are you sure you didn't recognize the truck, had it been following you? Did you get the license plate we can have Danny track them down." "We didn't have a chance to get a plate I was too busy trying to keep up from being upside down in 20 feet of water." Eric adds clearly using his new found hearing to listen in on the call. "Derek we're fine I promise. It's just some white trash kid having some fun with a couple of guys in a little girly car. It's not un heard of around here." Eric reassures. "Well the sooner you can get packed up and moved away from people like that the better." Derek responds knowing that Eric will be able to hear him. "I want you both to be extra vigilant and let me know the instant if anything else happens understood?" Both men agree and Isaac puts the phone back in his pocket.

The car is silent except for the soft music coming from the stereo. Isaac notices that Eric keeps stealing glances at him. He can tell he's more curious than scared now. "What is it?" he finally asks. Eric clears his throat. "Can you… Can you control it the change?" "You mean can I do it right now?" Isaac asks. "Yeah I mean can you go wolf on demand I guess is what I'm getting at." Eric asks a little embarrassed. "Yeah it's pretty easy once you've fully transitioned it typically only takes a day or two before you're able to change. Changing back sometimes takes a little bit of work. Depends if you have an anchor or not something good and strong to help you pull the wolf back." At Eric's questioning look "It can be someone who is close to you important." _we are SO not having the mate talk after nearly ending upside down in a ditch._ Isaac thinks with a grimace. It can really be anything it just has to be strong. Something you can focus on to come back. Once you have that you can wolf on demand." Isaac finishes with a smile. Eric nods but doesn't say anything looking straight ahead. "When we get home, could you I mean if you don't mind…." "It won't bother you?" Isaac asks a little worried. "No I know you won't hurt me I just want to see what it looks like close up you know is that weird?" Eric says a little softly. "No not at all. If Craig is home we'll just do it in your bedroom."

Minutes later they are pulling into the garage. "Let's do this in the bedroom in case Craig comes in." Eric suggests. Isaac follows Eric back to the master bedroom closing and locking the door behind them. "OK sit on the bed." Isaac says. Eric complies and gets comfortable on the bed after removing his shoes. Isaac sits on the bed a couple of feet away from Eric. "OK are you ready? Sure you want to do this?" he asks. "Yeah I'll be able to do it myself soon enough. I just want to see." "Ok." Isaac closes his eyes for a second. When he opens them his eyes flash yellow and he looks into Eric's deep blue eyes as the rest of the change happens. He hears a quick uptick in Eric's heart rate but it stays steady. "WOW" Eric says softly. Eric reaches out to touch Isaac's face but his hand stops mid way. "Can I touch you?" "Always" Isaac says his voice quite deeper than usual. Eric hesitantly touches the ridges on Isaac's face then runs a finger down the length of one of Isaac's canines. "Ugly huh." Isaac gruffs. Eric shakes his head slowly. Eyes never leaving Isaac's "You're _beautiful_ " he says softly almost reverently. He gently takes one of Isaac's clawed hands in his looking at the razor sharp claws turning it over gently. "Careful" he warns "They are as sharp as they look." His warning too late Eric jerks a little as he breaks the skin on the tip of his finger. "Ouch" he says and looks at Isaac with an embarrassed smile. "Guess my fancy healing powers are taking the day off." "I can fix that." Isaac says lowly and takes Eric's finger and holds it up to his mouth. He looks into Eric's surprised eyes and then gently licks the small cut. After a few soft licks Eric feels a tingle as the skin knits back together. Isaac releases his hand and Eric looks at it amazed. "Incredible" Eric practically whispers. "Time for the grand finale." Isaac says in his husky wolf voice. He pulls his shirt off and slips out of his shorts. Eric raises an eyebrow at him. "uhhh Isaac?" Isaac smirks toothily at him and begins to change again. Eric gasps as before his eyes Isaac changes in to a giant light brown wolf. "Isaac! I…I didn't know…" Reaching out he pauses for a moment "Can I touch you?" Isaac whines and lowers his head. Eric reaches over and touches the so soft fur. He scratches Isaac behind the ears and laughs when Isaac leans forward and licks across his mouth and nose. "You're like a giant stuffed animal so soft." Without even thinking Eric reaches forward and wraps his arms around Isaac's powerful neck and hugs him. "You're amazing Isaac Lahey. Even though wolves don't normally wear boxer briefs." Isaac preens at the compliment and nuzzles the side of Eric's head with his snout before licking Eric's face again. A moment later Eric sits back and exhales softly shaking his head as if trying to clear his mind. Back to human Isaac asks "Are you OK? Bet you're pretty tired." "I don't understand why I get so tired so fast. I feel like if I close my eyes I'll pass out." "So you're not freaked or anything?" Isaac asks. "Not at all I had no idea you could do that. You make a gorgeous wolf Isaac." Isaac smiles and motions for Eric to stretch out on the bed and says. "You're going to be an amazing wolf. Why don't we take a nap. This long drawn out change is probably what's taking all your energy. You're still mostly human and the change is probably a bit more than your body is used to." Eric is already mostly asleep by this point. He manages to whisper out a "Will you… stay with me...please?." Before he's out for good. Reaching down to lovingly run his fingers through Eric's hair Isaac smiles gently. "Always."

Isaac debates night shirts again before deciding to just go with it. He quickly strips Eric down to his underwear and pulls the blanket over them both. Wrapping his arms around Eric he inhales deeply behind Eric's ear before kissing him gently and settling down to sleep. He's just about to fall asleep when he hears the front door open. A moment later he hears someone come down the hallway and pause outside the bedroom door. Isaac easily picks out the smell of alcohol and unhappiness. After a few moments there is a sigh and the door to Craig's bedroom opens and closes. Isaac can hear the springs in the bed squeak slightly as he lies down. A few seconds later Eric's phone beeps. Isaac is torn between respecting Eric's privacy and wanting to know what is going on between Eric and his grumpy roommate. His thoughts are interrupted though when Eric squirms slightly in his sleep and whispers "Isaac". There is no spike in hormones from his mate indicating an amorous dream. Isaac wishes he could see what it was the mumbling form next to him was seeing. Losing the battle he reaches over Eric and picks up his phone. Flicking his finger across the screen to unlock it he reads the message Craig had sent him.

From Craig: We need to talk about your new "friend"

Isaac marks the message and unread and puts the phone back on the night stand. _Asshole_

Isaac must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knows he feels Eric gently pulling out of his arms and slipping out of the bed. Isaac felt a little guilty having always managed to wake and untangle himself first. Making Eric uncomfortable was not something Isaac ever wanted to do. Sniffing the air quietly as he pretends to sleep he is confused by the sadness and loneliness from Eric. A second later the door to the bathroom closes. Isaac turns over to look at the clock it reads 4:43 am. _Some nap._ Isaac thinks. He can hear Craig in the living room and Isaac decides to stay "asleep" and see how Craig acts if he is not around. A moment later following a toilet flush Eric comes out of the bathroom. He comes around Isaac's side of the bed and stands there for a moment. He lets out what Isaac can only describe as a sad/resigned sigh and tugs the blanket up a little covering Isaac more. _He's so beautiful, so gentle and caring… he's perfect. Why can't I have someone like this._ Eric thinks to himself before quietly leaving the room. He follows the sounds of keys tapping and finds Craig at his computer in the front room.

"Someone's up late." Craig says with a genuine smile. "Yeah we were pretty tired earlier to we decided to take a nap. Might as well stay up now since I have to go to work in a few hours." Eric says with a sigh sitting down in the recliner next to the computer. "So… You dating this guy?" Craig asks a little uncertainly. With a bitter snort Eric replies. "Yeah right." Isaac listening in the other room feels his stomach drop. "You both seem pretty close." Craig replies. "He's just a nice guy there's… There's no way anything could ever happen between us. We are too.. Different. Besides can you see me with someone like that?" Craig chuckles and says "No way. Well not long term anyway guys like that are super high maintenance and flighty. He'll want you to spend all your money on him, fly him first class, pay for everything shit like that. As soon as someone with more money comes along he'll be gone."

Isaac's head is reeling he'd heard Eric's heart he truly believed what he was saying. Craig's comment about first glass hitting him like a fist to the gut. Barely able to hold back his sobs he grabs his phone and calls Stiles. After a couple of rings he's greeted with a sleepy "Isaac?" The dam bursts at that point. " Stiles! He doesn't want me! Why doesn't he want me? We're _mates_ I'm sure of it how can he not feel the same way? Stiles what am I going to do?" Isaac's breath catches in his chest as he sobs quietly on the phone desperately trying to keep quiet. "Isaac listen to me OK. Can you hear me? Isaac!" Isaac reins his panic and despair back in enough to mumble out "Yeah." "We're going to figure this out OK. I'm going to call Derek right now. I'm going to talk to Deaton first thing in the morning. Hell we'll even track down Peter's creepy zombie ass if we have to. We'll get to the bottom of this I promise." Isaac nods and manages a feeble "OK" before Stiles continues. "How do you know he doesn't want you anyway? Did he come right out and say it?" Taking a deep breath to calm himself Isaac replies, "He was talking to Craig in the other room and I was listening in. Craig was acting really weird and possessive so I wanted to see how he would act when I was not in the room." "OK well tell me what was said, exactly." "Craig asked Eric if he we were together. He laughed _laughed_ and said it would never happen. We were too different. He… He asked Craig if he thought he would ever be with someone like me. He wasn't lying I could hear his heartbeat. Why would he say that Stiles why doesn't he like me." Isaac closes his eyes at the memory. Stiles is silent for a moment. "OK I'm going to say something based on my own personal experience so… Your mileage may vary with this. You know Derek and I are kind of a thing right now." _Why bring this up now?_ "Stiles… I don't really need to be reminded that I'm the only single member of the pack…" "Noo! That's not what I meant. OK so… For the longest time I ignored the feelings I had for Derek. I liked him pretty much from the first time I met him. Sure we had our differences and there was lots of growling and me being thrown in to things … "What's your point Stiles." Isaac says tiredly exhausted from his brief break down. "Wow OK Sour Wolf Jr. the point is I never acted on my feelings for Derek because I thought he was way out of my league and pretty much wanted to kill me. Dude looks like he was sculpted by the gods. I thought he would never want to be with some scrawny hyper kid like me. OK and you know how Derek likes to think he is responsible for every bad thing that ever happens. He felt he didn't deserve me. Thought he wasn't good enough and that he'd ruin me or get me killed. So he did everything he could to drive me away. We danced around each other for years and tried to ignore what we both deep down knew. Imagine the time we could have saved if we'd just talked to each other. Maybe… Maybe Eric feels the same way." Isaac is quiet for a moment. "You think he is afraid I'm too good looking for him?" Isaac says skeptically. "OK don't let your wolfy ego get too big but part of what makes you so gorgeous, is the fact that you don't realize it. Isaac you're like one of the hottest guys ever. Next to Derek of course. Derek says Eric literally radiates anxiety, and self-doubt. I'm sure you can sense it. He is as damaged as the rest of us. Given what happened with the traffic accident he may think he doesn't deserve to be happy. It's pretty obvious he's depressed. Especially given the amount of medication he was on. He could just see you as unobtainable." Isaac is stunned. He'd never considered himself _that_ attractive. He wasn't blind, he knew people were attracted to him but he never paid them any mind knowing they were only interested in sex. Even though his father's abuse is years in the past Isaac still has major self image issues and struggles sometimes to remember that he's NOT worthless, NOT unwanted. "My father.." Isaac stops as his voice catches and fresh tears start to fall. "He always told me… I was worthless, that no one would ever want me…Stiles.. I. umm thanks. I'll think about that. Sorry for calling.." Stiles cuts the apology short. "Your father was a fool. I've never known anyone more sweet, and amazing than you Isaac. Don't worry about it this is a big deal. I meant what I said though. Hang back analyze the situation there and Derek and I will see what we can come up with here. You probably don't have anything to worry about. If your wolf thinks he's your mate then it's probably just a matter of time before he realizes it." "Thanks Stiles I'll talk to you later." "Night pup."

Knowing Eric had work in a few hours Isaac voted against going back to sleep even though all he wanted to do was curl up in the blankets and breathe in Eric's scent. He decided to take a shower and get ready. He and Eric still had some planning on how he was going to get through the day. He hopped he didn't balk too much at Isaac's plan to post up in the parking lot. _Regardless of his feelings for me he is still pack and I'll do whatever I can to help him._ That decided Isaac goes heads to the bathroom for a shower.


	11. Chapter 11

"You want to sit outside in the heat all day?" Eric asks incredulously. They are sitting at the small round table in the kitchen having breakfast before heading up to the office. "It's the only way I can be close by if you have an attack." Isaac says defending his plan. "Believe me I'm not looking forward to it." Eric opens his mouth to say something else but closes it with a snap. "I have a feeling nothing I say will change your mind huh." He says with a shy smile. "Nope" Isaac replies forcing a small smirk. Eric senses something off with the younger man and tilts his head to the side slightly and looks at him for a moment. He is about to ask if Isaac is OK when Isaac pushes back from the table. "I'm going to brush my teeth." With that Isaac gets up and leaves the room. _Something's wrong… I've fucked up somehow.. damn it…_ Eric stares after Isaac with a sad look on his face for a moment before he too stands and cleans up the table.

A few hours earlier

"What's wrong with Isaac." Derek says by way of hello when he answers Stiles's early morning phone call. "What makes you think something's wrong? Maybe I just wanted to hear your…." "Stiles.." Derek interrupts. "OK OK dude someone woke up on the wrong side of the kennel….." "Stiles!" "Jeeze! OK Isaac's freaking out because he heard Eric tell his roommate that they are just friends and there's no way anything could ever happen between them." "That explains why he feels like he does." Derek says with a sigh. "It woke me up. He felt devastated…. Lost.. I was about to text him when you called. Eric is Isaac's mate that's all there is to it." He says with finality. "Really how did you come to that conclusion frowny oracle of love?" "It's really too early for so much snark. I felt it when Eric's wolf awoke it's something that I can feel over the pack bond now that his wolf has formed. It's weak. He probably doesn't know it or sense it yet but his wolf has acknowledged Isaac as his mate." Stiles blurts out. "That's probably the best thing I have heard all week. Eric needs to hurry up and figure it out because Isaac is pretty upset. You know how he is…. How he feels about himself….. How his dad left him... He needs this Derek they both do." After brief pause "maybe even more than we did." Derek is silent for a moment before answering "I know.. Will you tell him?" Derek asks. "Pack mom to the rescue huh?" Stiles asks with a smirk. "You're better at this kind of thing than I am." "Are you sure? " Stiles asks. "About the mate thing? Of course." Derek replies. "Sure enough to risk Isaac's happiness in case it turns out badly? You know this isn't a normal situation." Stiles presses. "Eric should become aware pretty soon, if not he'll be fully turned by the full moon." "You want to wait to tell Isaac?" Derek asks. "Just for a little while. I don't want to get his hopes up only to find out Eric's a Kanima or some other crazy ass shit." Derek's eye brows practically fly off the top of his head. "Do you think that's a valid concern?" "I dunno dude who knew that Jackson would get all scaly. You said that Eric has some pretty serious internal issues. I hope not but…" Stiles hears Derek let his breath out harshly. He'd obviously not considered Eric turning in to anything other than a wolf. "OK we'll wait. If he brings it up though….." "I'll tell him." Stiles promises.

"Park as close to your office as possible. I want to be able to hear you in case anything happens." Isaac says. Eric nods and pulls around the side of the building. "OK my desk is literally 10 feet in front of us on the other side of that wall. Will you be able to hear my heart too?" Eric asks looking at Isaac. "It depends on how thick the wall is but probably." Isaac replies without looking at Eric. "Are you OK?" For the first time since they had left the house Isaac looks at Eric. "Yeah I'm fine." He says with a slight smile. "I didn't sleep very well last night." "OK well feel free to nap out here. Put the sun shade up to block the light, you can even lay down in the back if you want. OH crap we should have brought some pillows, the rear seat folds down…" "Eric." Isaac says interrupting him mid rant. "I'll be fine really. Trust me I've slept in worse places." Eric's face clouds up as he looks down. "I know. I just… I wish you'd tell me what's wrong." Isaac's chest gets tight at the sense of sadness and worry coming from Eric. Sighing Eric looks up "This side of the building will keep you in the shade for most of the day. If it gets too hot start the engine and run the AC. See you at lunch." Isaac nods and Eric exits the Jeep pausing to pull his laptop bag from behind the driver seat. He looks at Isaac with large sad eyes a moment before he walks off with a small wave. Isaac tries to ignore the waves of sadness coming from Eric and focuses on his heart beat before leaning back and closing his eyes. Eric had told him that he had started being able to predict when he was going to have a pain attack. He said before it hit he usually had a few minutes warning. Isaac had told Eric to head out to the Jeep as soon as he felt one coming on. He had no doubt he could get to Eric in seconds if needed. What he did doubt though was that him racing through an unfamiliar structure wouldn't draw unwanted attention. Soon he can hear Eric typing on his keyboard and speaking to co-workers. Despite the pain the overheard conversation that morning was still causing Isaac hearing Eric's heartbeat, talking, and typing calms and soothes Isaac. This does nothing for the ache in his chest caused by upsetting Eric though.

They had decided the best way to hide his changes was for Eric to stay in his office as much as possible. Not the best plan but about their only option. "Isaac, if you can hear me honk the horn." Isaac smirks and reaches over and bumps the horn pad on the steering wheel. "That's so cool. Thanks for being there. This… whole thing could really be a nightmare I'll never be able to repay you for helping me through this. I know you've probably got a million other things you'd rather be doing than babysitting my boring ass. I promise I'm doing everything I can to not be a burden to you. I.. I'm really sorry if… if I've done anything to upset you or make you mad… I ." Isaac's heart drops when he hears Eric whisper to himself "fuck" followed by a sniff. "Just...just thanks….and ..and… I'm s..sorry Isaac." Eric's sadness is like a heavy weight pressing down on Isaac. "I've made him cry…What a worthy mate I am.."He mutters. After an hour or so of listening to Eric work Isaac unintentionally falls into an uneasy sleep.

"Hey Steve what do you need?" Eric asks looking up at the bearded man who had walked in to his office. "I need to get in to the file room, they told me you have a key?" He asks Eric an easy smile on his face. "Yeah sure let me get it for you." Eric turns to get the key missing the smile fall off Steve's face. When Eric tries to hand Steve the key. "Oh do you mind showing me where it is? I've never been to the file room, still getting used to this maze of a building you know." "Yeah sure no problem." Eric locks his workstation and stands stretching slightly before walking out in to the hallway and leading Eric to the file room. They make easy conversation. "I'm not surprised they sent the new guy to get the files, it's a bit of a hike upstairs and there is no AC in there so most people avoid it at all costs." Unlocking the door Eric steps in to turn the lights on. Steve steps in behind him and closes the door. "Wolf…" He says simply. Eric freezes and turns around. "Huh?" "You smell of wolf." Steve says eyes glowing bright yellow predatory grin on his face. "I don't know what you mean I have fish.." Before Eric can even react Steve jumps forward and punches him in the face knocking him back into some boxes. "What are you?" Steve demands. "You smell like a wolf but you aren't. I can smell other wolves on you. Who are they and why are they on my territory? I saw you at the restaurant and the park with that Beta. You were fawning over him like some bitch in heat." Eric struggles back to his feet. "We're no threat to you I just came back to…" "THIS IS MY TERRITORY!" Steve roars. Drawing back he punches Eric again "Any wolf invading my town will be put down!"

The pack is having lunch when ALL of them Derek, Stiles, Jackson and Scott freeze. "Eric!" Stiles yelps frantically grabbing for his phone. He quickly scrolls Eric's number and hit's send.

In the parking lot Isaac is having a bad dream. Someone is hurting his mate and he's frozen unable to get to him. Something's wrong he slowly starts waking up then snaps to full alertness. Eric's no longer in his office frantically Isaac tries to find his heart beat. Moments later he hears a weak "Isaac….."

Eric's phone had been knocked out of his pocket when he'd been knocked back into the boxes. When it rings Steve looks over at it. Seeing his chance _some were strength would sure come in handy now_ He snatches a pair of scissors out of the box of Christmas decorations he'd crashed in to and lunges forward. Steve see's it coming just a fraction of a second too soon. Unfortunately Eric is still mostly an out of shape human pushing 40 so his attack is just slow enough for Steve to step back. The scissors graze Steve's arm cutting a nice red mark through one of his many tattoos. Steve scowls and slaps the scissors out of Eric's hand and grabs him by the throat. Lifting him up off the floor he snickers. "Look at you, some half breed wolfen mistake, weak, slow, pathetic even by human standards you're an embarrassment I could so easily kill you. Instead I think I'll just have a little fun. With his other hand he pulls a small syringe from what must be a hidden pocket on the inside of his belt. Pulling the cap off with his teeth. "This might sting a bit." He says pleasantly before jabbing the needle in to Eric's neck and pressing the plunger causing Eric to yelp with pain. Eric's struggle to free himself almost immediately stopping. "There we go….. Steve says dropping Eric to the floor. "It will be interesting to see how long you survive." Steve delivers a few kicks to Eric's ribs for good measure and then walks out of the room. Gasping for breath Eric tries to stand up before falling back down his vision swims. "Isaac" he managers to get out before he loses consciousness.


	12. Chapter 12

Isaac leaps out of the Jeep and runs up to the closest door. It's locked…. At first. A moment later it's lying in the middle of the sidewalk and Isaac is darting in to the building. He finds himself in the warehouse portion of the facility. Listening frantically he hears Eric's weak uneven heartbeat coming from above. He turns and see's a flight of steps leading up to a small over look over the plant. He races up them and follows the heartbeat to a locked door. He kicks the door open and races in to the room nearly tripping over Eric on the floor. "ERIC!" He screams. He's on the floor in an instant cradling Eric in his lap. He can see black veins spreading out from a spot on his neck. His wolf howls in his head as he tries to get some response from his mate. Eric's phone starts ringing the same time his does. When he hears the personalized tone he had programmed in for Derek he answers immediately. "Derek! He's hurt I don't know what to do someone got to him I can't get him to wake up! Help me please _help me!_ " Isaac screams in to the phone sobbing loudly. "Isaac! Calm down what's happened?" "I was listening to him through the wall and I must have fallen asleep when I woke up I couldn't hear his heart anymore and then he called my name and I came in and found him. He unconscious and has black veins on his neck it looks like he was injected with something. Derek it smells like wolfs bane… Please help me what am I supposed to do I can't lose him! It's my fault!"

Isaac's loud rambling shaking and sobbing somehow manages to bring Eric around. He moans and opens his eyes. He reaches up and touches Isaac's cheek "Hey gorgeous who made you cry." Eric stutters out woozily. "Eric?!" "Isaac, he… Steve he's a wolf he injected… something… my neck… burns. Hard to think." "Isaac!" Derek yells to get his attention. "Find out Steve who? We need to find out what strain he used so we can counter it get his name before he passes out again. Stiles is going to have Deaton call you, we are on our way." In the back ground Isaac can make out the slamming of doors and the roar of the Camaro's engine. "Eric, Steve who? What's Steve's last name." "Steve?" Eric asks looking at Isaac confusedly. "The wolf that attacked you." Nodding slowly Eric is silent for a minute. "Steve Banks. He's…. only been… about a month." Eric gets out tiredly. "Stiles Steve Banks, Pathnet Data Communications Fort Worth Texas. Get that to Danny and get us an address." Isaac can hear Derek yelling to Stiles over the roar of the cars engine and squeal of tires as they race to the airport. "Derek what do I do?" Isaac sobs tears running down his face as Eric loses consciousness again. He pulls Eric close to his chest and whimpers. "Isaac you need to keep it together." Derek says. All Derek can hear over the phone is Isaac's frantic heart beat and hysterical keening. "Isaac! Derek yells. Your mate needs you get it together!" Isaac's eyes flash and he jerks slightly at the full alpha command. He feels comfort and strength from his Alpha surge over the bond. "Yes I'm taking him home." Isaac says. "I've got to get off the phone so I can charter a plane we'll be there in a few hours. Deaton should be calling in a few minutes. He's going to be OK Isaac." With that the line goes dead.

Isaac lays hands on Eric pulling as much pain out of him as possible. After a couple of minutes Eric wakes back up somewhat. "Isaac? Where… we going?" "Hey." Isaac says looking in to Eric's sleepy eyes. "We're going to get you home and then get you fixed up OK? Are you able to walk at all?" Isaac helps Eric to his feet. He's shaky but able to stand with some assistance. Stopping to grab Eric's phone they exit the room and make their way down stairs. "I tried to fight him… He was too strong Isaac I'm sorry… feels..drunk." Eric mumbles as he struggles down the stairs. "Don't you dare say you're sorry. I fell asleep. It's my fault he was able to get to you in the first place." "Not your fault you're on pain duty not.." Eric winces in pain "Body guard." Eric pushes himself up against Isaac a little more "You're so warm… always make everything better…." Isaac opens his mouth to say something when his phone starts to ring. He answers it. "Deaton?" "Hello Isaac I understand that Eric has been attacked and possibly injected with wolfs bane." Back to the Jeep Isaac sets Eric in the passenger seat and buckles him in before heading around to the driver's side. "Yes he was attacked by another wolf. Which is crazy why would a wolf inject him with wolfs bane?" "That is strange indeed. Not a normal method of attack for wolves. How is Eric is he conscious?" The vet asks. "Yes somewhat. Weak and sweating, he acts a little drunk, he fades in and out." "I see. It is imperative that you find out which strain of wolfs bane he was injected with. His delayed transition to wolf is going to buy him some time. Human immune systems are better at fighting off this type of poison. As you know wolfs bane in large enough doses is still harmful to humans, but it's easier to recover from. He is partially wolf though so…." I understand. We'll call you as soon as we have the information. How long do you think we have?" Isaac asks casting a worried glance over at Eric who seems to have fallen asleep again. "Without knowing the dosage or strain it is difficult to say. The fact that he is alive and somewhat lucid is a good sign. However there are too many unknowns for me to be able to say." Isaac said his goodbyes to the vet and promises to call the instant they knew what they were dealing with.

After a few more minutes they were pulling up in to the garage at Eric's house. He was glad to see that Craig's car was not in the driveway. Isaac carries Eric bridal style to the bedroom and quickly strips him down pausing a moment when he sees the black veins extending down his chest. He goes to the bathroom returning a moment later with a wet wash rag and starts wiping the perspiration from Eric's body. Eric shivers slightly under his ministrations. "'saac, s'cold" Eric snickers pushing weakly at Isaac's hand. Isaac smiles softly and lies next to Eric pulling him close. His eyes open wide when he hears Eric sniffing his scent. "smell… so … good. It's not fabric softener…. It's you… smells… like..home.. like happy and forever." Isaac's heart is thundering as Eric squirms closer to the younger man throwing his arm over his chest before continuing softer falling asleep again "want…I want… I… keep you.. forever.." Just then he whimpers weakly "It hurts Isaac…make it stop." Isaac quickly starts pulling the pain out and with that his breathing evens out and he's asleep. Isaac holds him tight. "I'm yours as long as you'll have me." Running his hands through Eric's sweaty hair Isaac frowns at the black lines of poison slowly moving towards his mate's heart and wonders how long that will be.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm awful at fight scenes sorry. Just imagine some bad assery that's not the stupid slow motion slap fighting they typically have on the show with pointless somersaults and what not.

From Stiles: Dude open the door we're here.

Isaac hears a pounding and wakes up. He looks at Eric who is still unconscious. Isaac jumps out of bed and rushes to the front door. "Isaac." Derek gets out before Isaac turns to head back in to the house "He's back here!" The pack follows Derek in to the house and crowds back in to the master bedroom. "Please tell me." Isaac's breath stutters as he keens softly. "Please tell me you know where this guy is the lines are almost to his heart." The word heart more of a sob than a word. "We do." Derek says. We knew time would be short so we want to bring him with us. Come on."

Minutes later they are all piled in to the rental van and are flying down the street towards Steve's home. The area is somewhat rural with large lots. Steve's address has a larger rundown home surrounded by overgrown shrubs and trees. Pulling up in front of the house and Derek has to grab Isaac's arm to halt the wolfed out man. "That's the truck that ran us off the road." Isaac says through fanged teeth as he shifts. Looking at the house a moment Derek starts "One heartbeat, probably already knows we're here Jackson, Scott take the back door, Isaac you're with me Stiles, you stay with Eric. Jackson and Scott bolt from the van splitting so they can meet at the back of the house. Derek and Isaac race up to the front door. "Isaac wait!" Derek yells. Isaac doesn't even knock. He kicks through the door destroying it easily. Derek shakes his head and races in behind Isaac watching for traps. They find Steve Struggling in Scott's arms as he hauls him back in to the house. "You!" Isaac roars grabbing Steve by the throat he slams him into a wall and then down to the floor. Steve struggles in vain to fight back while Isaac pummels him mercilessly. "Isaac! We need him alive!" Derek roars and pulls the frenzied beta off the bloody and battered Steve. Scott and Jackson struggle to hold Isaac back. Isaac lets loose with a window rattling roar of fury second only to Derek practically throwing both betas off in his struggle to get to Steve. "My _mate_ Derek he poisoned my _mate_!" "If you kill him we may not find what we need in time Isaac, we need to be looking not keeping you from being stupid think!" Scott implores the furious man. "Isaac, Eric is OK but we don't have time." Comes Stile's voice from the van. "We need the cure, kill him later, talk to him now." Isaac stills immediately "Yes Stiles." He says even though Stiles won't be able to hear him. He fixes Steve with a murderous glint in his eye. Knowing Isaac's back under control Derek turns to the other wolves."Scott, Jackson, look for the wolfs bane."

Steve says coughing and spitting up blood. "I knew injecting your little pack bitch would bring you here. You come to MY town, spreading your _stink_ and expect me to just sit idly by." Derek sneers at Steve. "Your town, a weak little Omega like you claims all of Fort Worth." "What's your plan then, you wanted us here. What are _you_ going to do to be rid of us?" Isaac growls stepping forward menacingly. " Steve smiles. "Oh not me. You see I may be cursed but I my brothers didn't abandon me I don't work alone. No we'll sit right here till the calvary arrives. "That may be true." Isaac say growling lowly and stepping towards Steve. "But you're trapped in here with us." "ah ah ahhh." Steve says "Touch me and you'll never get the cure for your pack slut. I imagine he probably doesn't have much time left." "Guys we've got company" Comes Stiles voice from outside. Isaac stops suddenly a look of fear on his face. He pulls his phone out and calls Stiles. "STILES get Eric out of here!" By now Scott and Jackson had returned to the living room. "I'm not leaving you guys here!" Stiles resists. "Derek yells knowing Stiles will hear over the phone. "Stiles you're too vulnerable there get Eric out of here we'll so it just like the time with the witches last year but you have to go NOW." "Stiles PLEASE get him away from here _please_." Isaac pleads. "OK I'm going but I don't like it and I better have good news soon." Derek takes the phone from Isaac and shoves it in his pocket. Just then a SUV pulls up outside. Even though there was truth to Steve's words all the wolves could also sense his uncertainty and fear. "Everyone stay calm" Derek stresses. "Something's not right about this." Scott says looking at Steve curiously.

A moment later six hunters walk in. "Steve what have you done now?" One of them says wearily. "They invaded our territory and turned one of our citizens!" He says angrily. "That's not true!" Scott says angrily eyes flashing. The hunters tense and the leader turns to Derek. "Alpha control your dog or this will get messy." "Why don't we just put them down, it's been a long week." The hunter in the back of the group says moving his gun to point at the two betas. "Shut up Turner." One of the other hunters says. Derek looks at Jackson and Scott and minutely shakes his head no." The two men relax slightly. "Good" says the hunter leader. He turns to Derek. "Alpha, I am Reginald Scott you've been accused of turning one of our citizens, care to explain?" "He is obviously unstable. One of my pack was in town with a friend. Your" Derek gestures dismissively at Steve. "Whatever this is attacked our friend and injected him with wolfs bane. He's currently unconscious and close to death. At the right dose wolfs bane is just as lethal to humans as it is wolves. I honestly don't know what he was trying to accomplish maybe our friend smelled like a wolf and Steve got scared. We want the antidote _now."_ Isaac growls lowly. Reginald turns to look at Isaac. "You're not about to complicate matters by going feral are you son?" Isaac scowls "He poisoned my mate how would you feel if we attacked your wife at work and poisoned her." Finishing with flashing eyes. Reginald shakes his head and sighs. "Steve….." "They are lying!" Steve yells. "He's some kind of human wolf half breed he smells like a wolf but he isn't." Steve rants. Reginald looks annoyed. "Smells like a wolf? Could it be because he spends time with wolves and is mated to one?" "He's the only threat here! We've done nothing wrong, your wolf has attacked my pack." pointing at Steve Derek says shouting. "What is the human's name?" Reginald asks. "Eric Anderson." One of the hunters pulls out a pda and starts typing. He quickly looks up and shakes his head. "I don't care if he is on the list or not! He's a wolf I've been watching them for days I'm it's only a matter of time before they turn his roommate!" Steve insists. "How long have you been watching?" Reginald asks. "Three days." Steve replies. "When did you inject him?" "Five hours ago." Derek answers. "God damn it Steve and he's still alive? You know that means he's human right? A wolf would have been dead within the hour!" Reginald yells. Steve tries to shrink in on himself "I I I I'm telling you he's not human." Reginald looks at one of his men. "I made the last batch stronger than usual after the last." He pauses and looks at Derek. "There's no way he'd still be alive."

The wolves in the room are confused by all this but can tell the hunters are telling the truth. Reginald shakes his head and looks at Derek. "Where is he we can give him the antidote and provide additional care if there are complications." The wolves are silent a moment so he continues. "We don't hurt humans, and we don't hunt wolves that don't cause trouble." "Only one of you will be allowed near him." Derek says. Isaac stiffens but says silent. Hearing the rental van pull up out front Derek gestures to the door "He is out front." Pulling the phone out of his pocket that had been on speaker the whole time. Derek adds "We're coming out Stiles one of the hunters will administer the antidote." He hangs up the phone and tosses it back to Isaac. Reginald leads the way out. Saying over his shoulder "Don't go anywhere Steve." Stiles opens the side door of the van before retreated back to the front and drawing a pistol. Reginald sees this and scoffs. "Humans and wolves, when will you people learn. Mark is our medic he will be able to give the antidote and know right away if anything else is needed." Mark pulls a small zipper pouch from his pocket and walks cautiously towards the van. Isaac moves forward growling and partially shifting which causes the hunters to raise their weapons. "It's OK" Reginald says. "They are trusting us with an injured pack member and mate let him get closer." Isaac shoves past Mark and quickly enters the van. He cradles Eric's head in his lap with a whimper running his hands through the unconscious mans hair. "You'll be the first to die if this doesn't work." He growls out not taking his eyes off Eric's pained face. "Let's get this over with." Derek says and Mark enters the van. He pulls a small syringe from his pouch and injects Eric with it. "This is a concentrated strain it should take affect pretty fast." As he is speaking the black veins on Eric slowly start to fade. Mark pulls a scope out and checks Eric's pulse after a moment he says what the wolves could already hear. Eric's heart rate and breathing were returning to normal. Seconds later Eric's eyes flutter open. He looks up into Isaac's worried blue eyes. "Isaac." he says with a weak smile. With a wracked sob Isaac pulls Eric up in to a crushing hug. "Get _out_." He growls looking up with burning yellow eyes. Mark backs out of the van still under the watchful gaze of an armed and scowling Stiles.

"I believe we are through here Alpha. It would be best if we not encounter each other again." Reginald says dismissively "If you'll excuse me I have a problem to remedy." Then he turns back to the house. The pack loads in to the van. As Stiles pulls away Isaac hears Steve begging from the house "Please Reggie I promise it won't happen again!" Unable to punish the man who'd attacked his mate. Isaac is satisfied to know Steve won't be escaping . "Am I done almost dying yet?" Eric says with exasperation. Isaac gives him a squeeze. "Yes thank god I'm never letting you out of my site again." Derek Scott and Jackson all squeeze around Isaac and Eric trying to make physical contact. "Careful guys I could get used to all this attention." Eric says closing his eyes and snuggling in to Isaac's side while wrapping and arm around Derek. "Rest, we'll be home soon." Scott says from the floor where he's leaning up against one of Eric's legs. "That's just a house home is right here." Eric says reaching out and hooking his fingers in one of the belt loops of Stile's pants so that he was in contact with everyone. Stiles looks in the mirror at all the relieved faces and grins happily.


	14. Chapter 14

"So where is this douchy roommate we've heard so much about?" Jackson asks as they all relax in the living room. Stiles and Derek are sitting on the love seat while Eric, Isaac, Scott and Jackson are squeezed together on the couch. Eric is wedged in between Isaac and Scott dozing while Jackson is channel surfing. "Douchy?" Eric asks? "Isaac says your roommate has been…. Not too friendly." Stiles offers. "That… Doesn't sound like Craig at all. I mean don't get me wrong he's a bit of a dick sometimes but he has no reason to be mean to Isaac. He'd better watch his mouth." Isaac smiles at Eric's statement but quickly frowns as Jackson speaks up. "He's probably jealous." Isaac stiffens slightly and glares at Jackson trying to get him to change the subject. "Why would he be jealous of Isaac?" Eric asks casting a confused look towards Jackson. "I'm sure he sees the way you two are always all over each other. I'm sure you shared a bed the whole time you've been back too." Eric sits upright sputtering. "But that doesn't… I haven't… it's just sleeping!" "I need to make a phone call I'll be right back." Isaac says and quickly leaves the room and walks out the front door. Eric frowns looking at the door where Isaac just left for a moment then continues. "Craig has nothing to be jealous about. Isaac and I are just friends. Isaac is a bit out of my league don't you think? I mean look at him and look at me. Yes I've lost some weight and whatnot but I'm still a 5 at best and he's a solid10. He's … Just… no.. there is no way anything would work between us. Not to mention the age difference." Eric looks at his pack none of whom seem too comfortable at the moment. "I dunno Eric sounds to me like you're trying awfully hard to convince yourself of something. Do you like Isaac?" Jackson presses. Leaning back and making eye contact. "I.. I. uhh. What I want or don't want doesn't matter. Craig is straight even if in some fantasy world Isaac and I were a thing why would Craig care?" "Soooo your saying you fantasize about Isaac?" Scott says with an evil grin on his face. "Are you sure Craig is straight? Could he be bi?" Stiles asks. Eric hmrps "Even if he was I would imagine the same situation would apply. He's a good looking young guy who could do _far_ better than me. That aside there are some personality traits that would get in the way of it ever being anything more than a fling. He can be… difficult." Eric looks again at the front door and frowns slightly. "You could just ask him?" Scott says. "Isaac?" Eric says still looking at the door. Scott rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to say something when Derek decides enough is enough and gives Jackson and Scott a tug on the pack bond. They both look to him and he quickly shakes his head NO. Jackson shrugs and goes back to channel surfing with a "whatever" and Scott changes the subject. "So what are you going to do about work?" "Guys. I'll… be right back." Eric says standing up slowly still weak from his poisoning. He wavers a little and Jackson reaches out to steady him. Eric smiles at him and moves slowly to the front door.

Isaac's outside leaned up against the tree with his heart pounding listening to the conversation inside. He plays those words over and over again along with Eric's wolfs bane fueled declaration of wanting to keep him forever. He quickly pulls his phone out and holds it up to his ear when he hears Eric coming towards the door. When the door opens Isaac turns and smiles at Eric making motions like he was ending a call and waits while Eric walks to him. "You should probably be resting human." He says with a smile. "I was worried about you I felt… It was weird it felt like you were unhappy that's the pack bond I guess? Is everything OK?" Eric puts an arm out to the tree for support. Isaac looks at Eric for a second "Yeah I'm good." With a smile. "Want to go back in? Pretty hot out here." Eric smiles briefly yeah I hate this state can't wait to leave it." "Isaac.." Eric hesitates a moment. "You've done so much for me I just want you to know that if there is anything I can do, or if I've done anything to upset you.. You'd tell me right?" "Of course." Isaac says plastering a fake smile on his face. That said Isaac gestures towards the door and follows Eric as he slowly makes his way back in the house. Eric looks down sadly "I wish you'd talk to me." Making his mate unhappy tears at Isaac's insides. He opens his mouth to say something but Eric's already through the door. Making their way back in to the living room Eric has the sense that he and Isaac had just interrupted something but says nothing. "So who's hungry?" He says. "Oh my god I could eat 5 pizzas!" Stiles exclaims. "What can you get delivered here?" Derek asks. "You look like you're 5 minutes away from passing out. It's probably not a good idea for us to go anywhere." "The only thing Craig and I have ever had delivered has been pizza and Chinese food. I'm sure other stuff is available but I couldn't tell you what. Eric pulls his wallet out and puts a credit card on the bar. "My trea…" Eric gasps and grabs the bar for support. Claws erupt from his finger tips and his ears lengthen in to points. "He's shifting!" Stiles yelps. Scott who was standing close to Eric puts his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Eric whips around eyes a burning yellow and roars in Scott's face before striking him in the chest and sending him into the wall where he crumples in a heap on the floor. Isaac launches over the couch and lands on his feet next to Eric. He immediately places himself between the advancing Eric and shocked fallen Scott. "Eric stop!" Isaac yells. Eric draws back to slash at Isaac but stops the instant their eyes connect. Human features sliding back in to place. Eric looks confused. He looks over at Scott who was just then standing up with Stiles help and back up to Isaac. "Scott….. Isaac? Wha happp" suddenly his eyes roll back and he collapses forward into Isaac's arms. "Get him to bed." Derek says. "This guy never ceases to amaze me. This I _am_ familiar with." "What the fuck just happened." Isaac asks. "I've seen it happen once before. Mated humans can sometimes manifest were characteristics. "Strength too? It felt like you hit me." Scott says rubbing his chest. "It was purely instinct driven. That's why he hit you were close and scared him so he knocked you away. Isaac got right in his face and it was perceived as an attack, that's why he escalated and was about to slash rather than push away." Derek adds "You'd think if it was purely instinct he'd know we are all pack." Jackson says. "Given time he probably would have. When I saw this before the change only lasted a few minutes. No one was injured and just as the wolf recognized us as pack it was over and the shift ended. He will probably sleep for a while he was already pretty weak, pulling off a partial shift and channeling the energy to knock Scott back like that is going to weaken him further. He is _still_ probably 90% human. I can sense his wolf a little better now but we still have a while before he fully transitions." "So…" Stiles says. "Pizza or Chinese?" "Both" Derek and Scott say simultaneously.

Derek and Stiles walk in to the master bedroom a few minutes later to find Isaac curled around Eric on the bed. They look at each other and smile. Isaac looks over at them as they come over to the side of the bed. "So he's OK? This was just a random thing that happens sometimes?" Isaac asks running his fingers through the unconscious man's hair. "It was exactly like what happened to man one of my aunts was dating. He passed out immediately after too. His breathing and heart rate are normal so I don't have any reason to think this will be any different." "His transition has been pretty unorthodox, so we shouldn't be surprised at weird things that happen." Stiles says. "That looks really comfortable" Stiles kicks his shoes off and crawls on to the big bed. "Oh wow ." He says cuddling up to Eric on the other side. Derek raises an eye brow and tries to not be jealous. Stiles huffs "Oh come on you big baby it'll probably be an hour before food gets here and he belongs to Isaac anyway come lay with us." Derek smirks before pulling his shoes off and sliding on to the bed next to Stiles. "It is a nice mattress." He says "Can we buy one?" Stiles whispers sleepily. "I'll ask Eric tomorrow what kind it is. It's the most comfortable mattress I've ever been on." Isaac says. Eric stirs and makes sleepy noises. Both pushing back into Isaac's embrace and pulling Stiles in closer. He then reaches over Stiles and pulls Derek in closer. "Is he purring?" Stiles asks with a chuckle. "Wolves do _not_ purr." Derek says indignantly. "I dunno sounds like a purr to me." Isaac says sniffing lightly at Eric's neck and kissing his shoulder softly.

Later Scott and Jackson come in to the room to let everyone know the food had arrived. "That looks really comfortable." Scott says. "It's been a long day let's eat later." Jackson says stripping down to his underwear he climbs on the bed. Scott follows suit. There are some soft growls and complaints as they work they way in to the pile but eventually everyone finds a spot. Derek smiles at his pack. Gently slipping out of his pants and shirt to be more comfortable. He pulls at Stile's clothes knowing how the younger man hates sleeping fully clothed. The higher body temperature of the wolves tending to cause the smaller human to perspire uncomfortably.

Eric wakes several hours later when he hears something. He feels warm, comfortable, safe, loved. He looks around at the pile of bodies in his bed and chuckles silently. _I'm surprised this cheap ass bed can support this much weight._ He hears the noise again and recognizes it as Craig unlocking the front door. He squirms comfortably and feels Isaac's arms tighten around him. He looks over and sees Derek looking at him. He's about to say something when Derek's eyes snap to the bedroom door. Eric turns to see that the door is open and Craig is standing there with a shocked look on his face. "OK what the FUCK is going on." Craig exclaims. Realizing suddenly what it must look like being in bed with 5 semi naked men Eric is fully awake in an instant. "Hey uh. It's not what it looks like." Eric is shocked when he sees tears welling up in Craig's eyes. His face a mask of hurt and betrayal. Before he can say anything else Craig turns and walks away. Eric struggles to free himself from the warm pile of pack. Finally free his feet hit the floor with a thud and he races down the hallway a bit quicker than should have been possible. He catches Craig by the elbow just as he's about to go out the front door. Craig looks at him with surprise "How did you…" He starts to say. Eric cuts him off "I promise no sexy times were had by anyone on that bed. I'm confused as to why that would even matter though." Without saying a word Craig steps forward and pulls Eric in to a bruising kiss. After a couple of stunned seconds Eric shoves Craig against the door and returns the kiss with gusto. Eric slides his leg between Craig's pressing himself against the younger man's groin. Craig moans lowly in to Eric's mouth. Eric slips a hand up Craig's back under his shirt dragging his nails against the skin as Craig works his tongue in to his mouth. Parting after a few moments Craig pulls back with a smirk on his face. "Still confused?" Back in the bedroom Isaac having heard everything including the wet nasty kiss looks away from Derek and Stiles's shocked and concerned faces as tears begin to fall from his eyes


	15. Chapter 15

Derek looks over at Isaac who whimpers and turns to look at his Alpha. Derek shakes his head. “He _is_ your mate we’ll fix this.” He whispers.

“Uh not that I don’t appreciate that but what the fuck is going on?” Eric says after he catches his breath. Craig runs the back of his hand down the side of Eric’s face. “Stubble feels weird.” He says. “I’m just protecting what’s mine.” Craig answers and pulls Eric in to an awkward embrace that Eric does not return.

“What’s _his_?” Isaac snarls and says “I’ll rip his god damn face off!” Stiles and Derek both hold on to Isaac to prevent him from making good on his threat. “Just wait dude we’ll figure it out, a dead body is not something we need right now.” Stiles implores Isaac while Derek pulls him back on the bed.

“What?!” Eric exclaims. “I think I may be in love with you.” Craig says in a small voice. “Craig what the FUCK is going on? Since when are you in love with me? What about Beth?” Craig glares at Eric a moment. “I don’t know OK it’s just kinda happened.” “You just kinda fell in love with me _days_ before I move halfway across the country?” Eric says with a glare pulling away from Eric. “What’s not to love? Your smart, funny, loyal, honest. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You look great. You’re successful…. You’re everything anyone could want. I’ve felt this way for a while but just didn’t know how to tell you.” Craig says looking in to Eric's angry eyes. Eric rubs his hand down his face. “I hate to break it to you…… but you’re straight. If you are gay then you are the most stealth gay I’ve ever known. I’ve known you for 10 years and you have never shown even the _slightest_ interest in me, or other guys.” “You’re the exception, I’ve never been interested in other guys. Just you.” Craig says looking a little lost and confused. “I don’t want you to go I can’t stand the thought of you being with him.” Eric rubs his temples to ease the pounding in his head. Something’s stirring within him feeling anger and disgust at what he’d just done. He feels shame an immense shame building but it feels like its someone _something_ else... “With who?”   Craig scoffs “Like it’s any secret you’re with Isaac although after seeing the orgy maybe it’s some kind of poly thing….” “Why the _fuck_ does that keep coming up? I’m not _with_ Isaac. I’m never going to _be_ with Isaac.”

Back in the bedroom Isaac is trembling in Stiles and Derek’s arms. Every word from Eric hits like a physical blow to the young wolf. “This will work out I promise.” Derek insists. Isaac buries his head in his Alpha’s chest to hide the tears raining from his eyes. “Why doesn’t he want me? What can I do to make him want me?” He whimpers.

“He’s just a friend that came to help me pack.” Eric says “A friend that you sleep with every night?” Craig says hotly. “What so you're saying you’ve fucked _every_ girl you’ve ever slept with? It doesn’t have to be sexual! I’d sleep with you if you didn’t stink of booze half the time” Eric retorts angrily. “I’ve never slept with five girls at the same time either.” Craig says rolling his eyes. Eric waves his hand dismissively. “You should not judge things you don’t understand.” Craig says angrily. “I was here _first_ he can’t just come and take you away. “He just want’s someone to pay his bills.  Get out here so I can kick your skinny ass!” Craig shouts walking towards the bedroom.

 The thought of Craig attacking Isaac infuriates Eric more then he could have possibly imagined. He realizes with a start that the emotions he’s feeling are from his wolf. Said wolf is furious at the threat to Isaac’s safety. Snarling and struggling it’s trying to claw its way to the surface. In the bedroom Derek and Isaac can feel Eric’s wolf practically roaring over the pack bond.  Eric is by Craig’s side in an instant grabbing him by the arm to spin him around then slamming him in to the wall hard enough to crack the drywall stunning the angry human momentarily.. “You touch him and I’ll kill you.” Eric growls out. His voice low and threatening. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!?!” Eric bellows inches from Craig’s face. “Touch one hair on his head and I will fucking end you. I won’t just hurt you I will _kill_ you!” Eric snarls literally shaking with rage a feral crazed look on his face. Craig looks at him in shock. “Your eyes…” He says. “What about them.” Eric says glaring at Craig. “They for a second they looked like they were yellow.”

“Drunk again I see. Let me explain something to you. Nice and simple. Guys like me?” Eric gestures at himself angrily. “Don’t get guys like Isaac. He is young , beautiful, kind, gentle…. in a word perfect. What would someone like that ever see in some broken bitter fool like me. I have _nothing_ to offer someone like him. Even if he was crazy enough to want me I’d never be able to keep him. He'd eventually realize his mistake and he’d be gone.”

In the bedroom Isaac sits up in bed listening intently. “Told you it would work out pup. It’s not that he doesn’t want you, he thinks he’s not good enough for you.” Derek says smiling at Isaac’s sudden change in mood. “That you _can_ fix. Hell just ask him out.” Stiles says.

Craig opens his mouth to say something but Eric cut’s him off. “Regardless of that you and I are not compatible at all. I’m not interested in a fling or sex. I want someone that I can share a life with. You’re not even responsible enough to keep your car registered. How many times have you been arrested because you’re too lazy to not only keep your car legal, but pay the tickets you get when you inevitably get pulled over. How many thousands of dollars have you spent in the past… shit five years on bail?” Craig doesn’t say anything. “Not only that, but you’ve told me yourself that you have cheated on every girl friend you’ve ever had. What makes you think I would want the same treatment?” Craig finally finds his voice “But you’re different.” Shaking his head angrily Eric cuts him off. “How many times have you used that? You have little to no respect for anyone. You still haven’t answered my question what about Beth? Are you going to dump her now that you’ve decided you want cock instead of pussy? Never see her again? Or am I going to come home early one day and find you two together? Are you prepared to give up girls permanently? Because I don’t share. Time and time again you’ve proven that it’s all about you and what you want. I don’t know if its an ego thing or what. It doesn’t matter how sweet or how pretty your girl friend is, some skank can come along whisper in your ear and you’ll be balls deep in her five minutes later. Even if we were to try and date I could never trust you. You told me yourself the best thing to do if you’re ever confronted with cheating is and I quote “deny deny deny”. I want something real Craig. Some _one_ real. On the surface yeah I could be in to you. Good looking masculine guy. I have no doubt that the sex would be ridiculously amazing. I’ll even go so far as to admit I’ve wondered what it would be like to be bent over the bar, or to have those amazing legs of yours wrapped around my waist or over my shoulders.” Craig’s eyes go wide and he swallows visibly.  Back in the bedroom Isaac growls dangerously.  "Easy pup." Stiles says still firmly holding on to Isaac's arm.

“I’ve been here all this time and you’ve ignored me. There have been times when you could have done _anything_ to me. I would have _drained_ you. Wrung every bit out of sex out of you.” Eric snickers leering briefly.“But we’re wrong for each other. You’re very smart but you’re also arrogant, argumentative, and self involved. I know there is more there, but for whatever reason you don’t ever let anyone in. You saw how broken up I was after Cole yet you didn’t say a word. If you loved me or at least cared for me you would have offered some sort of comfort. After the accident you know the place I was in. Yet you did nothing to try and help. You just ignored it like it never happened.” “I was giving you your space, I figured if you wanted to talk you would have.” Craig says weakly. “You have to put out there that you’re receptive first ass hat.” We’ve had talks about that before feelings are too touchy feelly for you. I’m not interested in someone like that. I don’t have time to chase after someone who is so closed off they never want to share anything with anyone. I want someone who will be upfront and honest about their feelings and tell me what he wants. I’ve been with enough guys to know what it is I don’t want. There have been plenty of times where if you were interested you could have been there for me. Helped me through the tough spots, but you’ve said before “guys don’t do feelings. In my opinion a real man isn’t afraid of his feelings he masters them instead of hiding them because of some silly outdated notion of what it means to be a man. You’ve got the potential to be a great boyfriend maybe even a husband. But I learned a long time ago you can’t change people unless they want to change themselves. I like you and I care about you but the person you’ve shown me is not someone I could be in a relationship with. I’m sorry.” Craig looks thunderstruck . He looks down for a minute before nodding slightly having been released by Eric he briefly touches Eric’s face with the gentlest of touches before walking out the front door without a word. Once the door closes Eric leans against the wall, sliding down to the floor with a heavy sigh bracing his elbows on his knees he drops his head to his hands.

A moment later Stiles walks out and sits next to him then puts his hand on Eric’s neck and squeezes. Eric’s eyes close and his breath catches as warmth floods his body. “Stiles… What??!? That feels way better than it should.” He says. Stiles snickers. “It’s a wolf thing. Derek told me his mother used to do this to him when he was upset.” “Tell me I haven’t just made a terrible mistake?” Eric says miserably. Stiles looking shocked replies, “Sounds to me like you had lots of reasons why he was not a good fit for you why would you think you were wrong?” “Stiles I’ve been single for so long. The relationships I’ve had have left me bitter and damaged. The last one was the worst of all. Maybe.. Maybe I shouldn’t be so picky. Craig wouldn’t be the worst.” “Stop.” Stiles says “If what you said was true he’s not ready to be in any kind of serious relationship. Sure he’d probably be great fun friend with benefits kind of thing but you said yourself you’re looking for someone to build a life with. From what you said that’s _not_ Craig.” “I’m tired of being alone Stiles. I’m 37 years old for the past 20ish years I’ve been single all told for the majority of them.” Continuing to gently kneed Eric’s neck Stiles thinks for a moment smiling at the soft keening sound Eric makes. “Well maybe it’s for the best that you’re not getting involved with anyone here. You are about to move, you’re starting a new job, there’s also the little werewolf thing. ….” Eric sighs “Everything is so confusing right now I wish things would settle down. I’ve got all these crazy emotions and what not.” Stiles raises an eye brow and looks down at Eric. “What kinds of emotions?” Eric is silent for a moment. “Hey you can talk to me I may not have your fury disposition but I’ve been around for everyone’s transition. I know what to expect and what happens.” “My wolf, he’s angry…. disgusted…. ashamed that I kissed him I don’t understand why.” Before Stiles can say anything Eric tenses suddenly and cries out in pain. Isaac is there instantly pulling Eric in to his lap and pulling the pain out of the shivering man. It takes longer than usual this time but eventually Eric calms down and relaxes. “Isaac.” He says softly. Isaac smiles down in to Eric’s deep blue eyes. “Everything always comes back to you.” He says sleepily “You make my wolf happy.  Much more than the others.....  I don’t know what that means….just feels like as long as you’re close everything will be OK.” Eric’s eyes drift shut and in seconds he’s asleep relaxing against Isaac. Isaac smiles and cards his fingers through the sleeping mans hair. “Ok you two… BED” Derek says Isaac gently picks Eric up and carries him back to the bedroom where Scott and Jackson were still sound asleep. Derek holds his arm out and Stiles smiles and hugs in to the older man’s side as Derek puts his arm over Stiles’s shoulder following Isaac back to the bedroom. Once the door was closed and locked Derek joins the rest of his pack in bed. He smiles when he sees the way Eric has wrapped his arms around Isaac the instant they had laid down. For the first time since arriving in Texas Derek felt like things were looking up.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh Eric's "I'm so pathetic no one would ever want me" drama is getting on my nerves. Let's see if we can't turn things around a little. Eric is not me by the way. A few traits of mine have probably made their way in there but he is more of a combination of several people I know who've had life dump all over them.

Eric wakes to find Stiles nuzzled in close to him head resting on his chest. He looks down to see Scott laying over his legs and see's Jackson's hand resting on his hip. A smile makes it's way across his sleepy face. The only thing missing is Isaac, where is my big puppy. Eric thinks. He's been so good to me. Always there for me. I can tell they all care about me but the way Isaac looks at me…If I didn't know any better I'd think….. Eric closes his eyes and shakes his head slightly convinced Isaac would never be interested in him. Running his hand slowly over Stiles's trademark buzz cut elicits a sleepy happy sound from the younger man. Moving slowly he's able to extricate himself from under the pack. Eric smiles as they instinctively curl closer together.

 

Making his way silently out of the room he finds Derek and Isaac in the kitchen making breakfast and drinking coffee. Derek looks up and smiles while Isaac freezes and stares for a moment. "What's wrong?" Eric asks and looks down. "wow" he says. "Uhh looks like you've lost some more weight." Isaac says finally managing to tear his eyes away from Eric's torso. While not hulking Eric's frame had slendered and toned significantly while sleeping. All muscle groups were now showing a healthy amount of definition. "Well awesome. I look great but still feel weak as hell." Eric sighs pushing tentatively at his now very tight stomach. Derek reaches towards Eric's head and stops when Eric flinches. "I'm not going to hurt you." He says softly. "I'm sorry still getting used to you guys touching me." Eric replies sheepishly. Derek reaches up and moves his fingers through Eric's hair looking surprised. "I don't have dandruff do I? Eric asks humorlessly. "No not at all, you had a bit of gray hair but it's all gone now." "I guess I can't go back to work now. I have a head full of not gray hair and I've probably lost 30 pounds in the past 2 days." Eric says frowning and biting at his lower lip. "We could stop if it would be easier for you." Isaac says quietly. Eric looks at him inquisitively. "The touching we could lay off." Isaac explains placing plates with bacon and eggs in front of Eric and Derek. "NO!" Eric exclaims causing Isaac to smirk and Derek to raise an eye brow. "I mean it doesn't bother me I'm just not used to having people touch me. I like it when you touch me I mean not in a bad way..." Eric trails off his embarrassment clear. Derek clears this throat quietly trying not to laugh. "It's a wolf thing by touching we are marking you with our scent. Making you smell like pack. It makes all of us feel safe. It also lets other wolves know you're in a pack and not omega." He finishes and starts eating his breakfast. "I may be a little touch starved… I never wanted people to think I was being some creepy gay guy touching everyone that came within reach. So pretty much my entire adult life I've avoided touching people unless they were my boyfriend.…." "You worry too much about what other people think. You are a good man." Isaac says emphatically. Eric says nothing but shakes his head in the affirmative.

 

"What are you going to do about Craig?" Isaac asks deciding to change the subject.. Eric stills momentarily and then inhales, letting the air out harshly. "Not really much I can do. He waits until the 11th hour to tell me he's in love with me. Who the hell does that, he's had YEARS to say something. He's known for months that I was looking to leave the state. Now that I'm literally days away from moving across the country he wants to throw a fit and says he's in love with me. All that side, I've seen how he treats people he dates so no thanks. I'm sure there would be lots of laughs, lots of cuddles, tons of pelvis shattering sex….." At that Derek nearly chokes to death on his orange juice. "That'd be about it though because I'd know that whenever I wasn't around he'd be off with someone else. I don't have it in my any more to try and change someone." Isaac turns back to the stove and busies himself pretending to clean to hide the relieved grin on his face. "Besides, I'm not interested in being someone's experiment. He's been with girls his whole life never touched a guy if what he's told me in the past was true. I'm not interested in gambling on whether or not I'd get dumped for someone with boobs in six months." Eric scowls and downs the rest of his orange juice. "Or come home early and find him in bed with a girl. You don't have to put up with that you deserve so much more than that." Isaac says with maybe a touch more heat than is necessary. "Part of me almost wants to though." Eric says dejectedly. "Been single for a long time and I'm tired of being alone. The thought of spending the next what 120? 130 years alone isn't that appealing." Eric sighs and spins around on the bar stool. Derek meets eyes with Isaac then says "Would you want to be with someone that long?" Eric continues to spin while shrugging his shoulders. "If I could find someone who would love me as much as I would love them absolutely. I'm a forever kind of guy. The relationships I've been in I've been in 100% even when they weren't going that great. If I like someone enough to date them then unless some horrible character flaw pops up then I'm in it for the long haul. Why do you ask? Know any fellow long lived creatures of the night that would be interested in a bitter aging gen x-er who may or may not eventually become a wolf?" Eric stops spinning and jumps down off the now much higher bar tool and walks somewhat dizzily to the back door to look out back. Derek smirks at Isaac who opens his mouth to say something. "Coffee GOD!" Stiles exclaims staggering into the room and plopping down next to Derek. Isaac pours a cup and shoves it over to Stiles knowing how difficult he can be until he is properly caffeinated in the mornings.

 

Derek ruffles his hand through Stiles's short hair then turns to look where Eric was still staring out the French doors in to the back yard. "What do you plan to do about work Eric?" Eric huffs and shrugs without turning around. "Not much I can do I can't go back to work looking like this. It would cause too many questions. I'll call my boss and tell him …I don't know. Maybe that the new company needs me sooner or something like that." Derek nods. "I like that the sooner we can get you packed up and out of here the better I will feel." "How much of this stuff is yours?" Stiles asks looking around. "Pretty much all of it." Eric says coming back and sitting next to Derek. He slowly spins the stool in the opposite direction making it slowly lower. "Craig has a bed some clothes and the computer in the front room. Aside from that everything else in the house is mine. A lot of stuff is already packed so…" He trails off and shrugs shaking his head. Derek and Isaac both begin to pick up on anxiety and sadness coming from Eric. Just when Isaac is about to say something Eric hops of the stool again and walks to the back door. This time opening it and walking out on the porch closing the door behind him without saying anything. He walks to the edge of the porch and stares out seemingly at nothing for a moment before lowering his head. Frowning heavily Isaac moves to follow him. "I can see why he was on medication. He has some pretty major mood swings." "Coming off the medication may be what's causing this. Does the bite cure brain chemistry?" Stiles wonders aloud. "I think it's time you move forward a bit, maybe not all the way, just at least make your intentions known." Derek suggests. Isaac nods his head and slips out the door.

 

Eric turns to look at him, a small smile on his face. He sits in one of the plastic chairs and stretches out. Isaac pulls one over and sits next to him. They don't say anything for a moment. Isaac looks at Eric and opens his mouth to say something then closes it. Eric senses the younger wolfs anxiety and looks at him quizzically. After a moment Isaac with a reddish tint to his cheeks speaks. "I want to ask you something, but I'm worried about messing things up between us. You mean a great deal to me more than I think you realize and I don't want it to be weird." He pauses a moment seemingly trying to gather the words, or possibly courage. "You mean a lot to me too. No way I'd have made it without you. Everything is so calm and peaceful when you're close. Everyone else comforts me but with you…." Eric trails off also blushing he looks down. "I uh…" Isaac begins then falters.

 

Back in the kitchen Stiles is shoving Derek. "Come on you have to tell me what they are saying, is he telling him?" Derek smiles and just shakes his head.

 

"Did I say or do something to make you uncomfortable? I'm really sorry if I did. I'm taking up too much of your time aren't I? I knew I shouldn't depend on you so much. I can ask Scott if he minds." Isaac is shaking his head no and finally blurts out "Would you like to go out? Uh with me. Like as in a date? Would you go out on a date….. with me?" Isaac closes his mouth with a click and looks at Eric hopefully. Eric is simply staring at Isaac with a dumbfounded look on his face. After a moment. Isaac's smile starts to falter. Eric opens and closes his mouth a few times. When he see's Isaac's expression though he reaches for his hand and finally replies "Yes please." The smile Isaac gives Eric would light up the darkest day. "Really?" Isaac asks. "Isaac you are… The most amazing person I've ever met. I have no clue why you'd be interested in me but I'd be a fool to turn you down." At the spike of trepidation and anxiety from his mate Isaac practically leaps out of his chair to pull Eric in to a hug. "I wish you would stop doubting yourself. You're amazing, and gorgeous and sexy and have you even seen your eyes? I make YOUR wolf happy? You make my wolf roll on its back and ask for a belly rub." Isaac nuzzles Eric a little under the ear before pulling back and smiling at him. "I'm going to spend as much time as it takes to make you realize you're more than enough for me." At that he pulls Eric close. "I'm going to kiss you now. If you don't want me to you have about 2 seconds to back away, I'll never mention it again." Eric's eyes open wide but he says nothing. Isaac cups Eric's face in both his hands holding him like the precious treasure he knows Eric to be and slowly leans in and kisses his mate. It's gentle but deep and meaningful. Both men wrap their arms around each other. Pulling each other tightly in to the embrace. Isaac moans softly while Eric whimpers and presses tighter against Isaac. Eventually they slowly pull back. Both men are breathing heavily lips swollen and wet. "Hands down." Eric starts "Most amazing first kiss ever." Isaac finishes with a smile.

 

Suddenly shouts of jubilation erupt from the house. Both Eric and Isaac look back to the French doors and see the rest of the pack there cheering at them and clapping.

"Holy shit it's about time you two idiots got your heads out of your asses." Jackson says clapping loudly. "Dudes you have no idea how painful it's been to watch all the pining and man pain going on between you two." Scott says laughing. Eric and Isaac both blush as they head back in to the house. Stiles grabs them both in a big hug. "You are both perfect for each other. I'm so happy for you…. Don't fuck it up."


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little rough in this chapter. Please take note of the story tags if you have triggers.

“I don’t suppose you two could wait until we’re back in Beacon Hills to do this?” Derek asks with a sigh. “Dad we’ll be fine.” Eric says with a snicker as he and Isaac prepare to head out to dinner and a movie. “I promise we’ll be careful, we’re not even going far.” Isaac pleads giving his Alpha the biggest puppy eyes he can manage. Derek finally sighs and shakes his head. “I don’t like this. PROMISE ME” he says pointing and making stern eye contact with both wolfs “You will text me every hour. You will let me know if you change your plans.” Eric nods “We promise.” “Ok… I don’t like this… Have a good time. BE CAREFUL.” Smiling Eric tosses Isaac a key “Feel special puppy I’ve never let anyone drive my car.”   Isaac smiles then follows Eric around to the passenger side. Isaac opens the door for Eric then leans in close. “Opening the door for you was really just an excuse.” He then leans in and brushes his lips gently against Eric’s. Eric gasps and leans in to Isaac closing his eyes as Isaac puts his arms around Eric’s waist. The kiss is gentle and sweet almost chaste. Isaac pulls back and looks down at Eric smiling gently. “Wow.” Eric says. “That’s was pretty amazing….” “Better than Craig?” Isaac asks. Eric groans. “Uh yeah he tastes like a bar matt. Come on hot lips we’ll miss the movie.” They both climb in the Spyder and head out.

“I’ve got cabin fever I’m going to go for a walk. Want to come Stiles?” Derek scowls. “Just around the block we won’t go far.” Stiles gives Derek a quick kiss on the cheek and follows Scott out the door. “Don’t be gone long” Derek warns as the two best friends walk out the front door chatting.

Moments later a car pulls in to the driveway. Jackson drops the remote on the couch and gets up to see who it is. “It’s Craig.” Derek says before Jackson can get to the window. Jackson peers through the blinds with a smirk. “Do you think he was waiting for Eric to leave to come back?” he asks. “Possibly he didn’t take the rejection very well.” Derek replies. When Craig comes in the door he sees Derek and Jackson staring at him. He stops for a moment and frowns. “Help you?” Derek says smugly. Craig scoffs scowling at both of them. “I’m here to get my stuff no point in my being here anymore.” He goes over to the computer in the front room and starts taking it apart. Jackson stands there for a moment before looking at Derek who shrugs his shoulders and picks up a magazine on the coffee table. They can both smell the hurt and anger coming off of Craig. You don’t have to be a wolf to smell the alcohol though.

“For what its worth I’m sorry it didn’t work out I know how much it sucks when...” Jackson offers. Craig cuts Jackson off bristling and standing toe to toe with Jackson who eyes him dully. “If it weren’t for you freaks he’d still be mine.” Jackson chuckles. “Yours? Or do you mean your back up plan for when everything else fails? What was he your plan C? D? You lay a claim of ownership but yet you apparently were too busy chasing pussy to ever actually do anything. What did you think he’d always be there? You’d let him be there alone and miserable forever wouldn’t you? Rather than step up and actually say anything you’d let him rot. Pretty fucking selfish dude even I’m not that bad.” Craig’s eyes waver and he looks down deep frown on his face. “Well I didn’t hear his dismissal of you but from what I’ve been told he made it pretty clear that he never was and never will be yours. What makes you think he’d be interested in someone like you anyway? You’re what 28? 29? You’ve got a crap job, crap car, rent a room instead of having your own place. You dress like a slob, are a good 20 pounds overweight and can’t keep your dick in your pants. What makes you think someone like Eric wants someone like you? Is the way you run around with your dick in your hand desperately trying to hold on to your youth supposed to be make you a good catch? Let me guess you go after young girls. I’ll bet late teens early 20’s. You have luck with them because you act like other guys their age. You probably prefer them because any women your age would expect you to have achieved certain mile stones by now. How long do you think you can pull that off? I mean you are pushing 30.”

Craig glares then draws back and throws a punch directed at Jackson’s smug face but Jackson catches his fist and smirks at him. “You’re pretty strong for a…well…for someone like you but you’d best direct that anger back at yourself. It would be unwise to attempt to take on any of us. Well except maybe Stiles but if you even look at him wrong Derek there.” Jackson indicates with his head to where Derek is standing in the door way arms crossed face looking like murder. “Would rip you in to tiny pieces… literally” at the word literally Jackson gives a squeeze of his hand causing Craig to wince in pain.

“Here’s the deal… Eric is with us, you’ve have more than enough time to make a move although I have a feeling you probably never would have. He has been single for a long time but you were too caught up in the young girls to make a move. He belongs to Isaac now.” “He said he didn’t want Isaac.” Craig grunts out. “From what I have gathered he was under the impression that Isaac wouldn’t want _him_. Isaac was under a similar misconception. They finally figured it out though and actually are out on their first date right now.” Craig frowns further and seems to wilt a little. Jackson lets Craig’s hand drop to his side.

“It would be best for everyone if you were to collect your things and be gone before they get back.” Derek says working to keep his eyes normal. He can sense the rage coming from Craig and the challenge to his packs safety is causing his wolf to snarl and want to destroy this threat. “You’re a decent enough looking guy grow up some hit the gym to work off that beer belly, ease up on the drinking and you’ll be fine. The arrogant “I do what I want” shit only works if you actually have something to show for it. If you ever want to a relationship that’s more than sex you’re going to have to work for it. Eric deserves better than someone like you.”   Craig turns back to his computer and starts hauling it out to his car. “We’re happy to help if you need another set of hands.” Jackson offers. “You can leave your key with us, we’ll see to it that Eric gets it.” Derek says. Craig storms back in the house and brushes past Jackson down the hallway. He makes 2 trips glaring at Jackson and Derek. On his last trip out he throws a key at Derek’s feet “He can keep the bed.” without breaking his stride and walks out slamming the door behind him.

“If that’s the best Eric has in the friend department I can see why he’s so lonely.” Jackson smirks walking over and peering out the blinds at Craig. “It’s a good thing this all happened. He would have destroyed Eric. That douche bag would have broken his heart.” Derek smiles at Jackson. “I didn’t think you liked Eric. Nice to see you stand up for him.” Jackson shrugs his shoulders and walks back to the other room and sits on the couch grabbing the remote “Eric’s pack I’m not going to let some loser hurt him.” “As soon as the house is packed we’re going back home. The sooner we’re out of Texas the safer we’ll all be.” Derek says looking around at the boxes and packing paper littering the room. “Good idea” Says Stiles walking in to the room with Scott. “This place is too small, too close to other houses. We won’t be able to safely contain Eric here for the moon.”

Sitting next to Derek on the couch Stiles leans in to his side. “Do you think Eric will have a problem with leaving right away?” Asks Scott as he drops down on the couch next to Stiles. Jackson shrugs “I don’t see why, what does he have that’s keeping him here? Craig is gone and he can’t go back to work looking like he does now. Let’s get him packed up and get out of this dump.” “How’s the date going?” Stiles asks looking around the room at the wolves. Stiles is linked through the pack bond but his connection is nowhere near as strong as the wolf’s. “You tell us.” Derek says smiling at Stiles. “I can’t really feel much it has to be pretty strong. When I think about Eric I don’t really get anything unless he’s freaked out. When I think about Isaac normally it feels empty or cold. Right now he feels…. Warm?” The other three in the room nod. “Isaac is _very_ happy and content right now.” Jackson smirks. “I’ve never felt feelings like this from him before probably the happiest he’s ever been.” Scott says with a warm smile. Looking at Derek who has the strongest connection to everyone Stiles asks “What about you, are you able to feel anything from Eric?” Derek nods his head frowning. “His wolf is slowly getting stronger so I’ve got a pretty good read.   He’s anxious, apprehensive, guarded, but also… I’d say optimistic. He’s enjoying himself but it’s almost like… He’s holding himself back.” “To keep himself from getting hurt.”Stiles finishes shaking his head sadly. “Can’t really blame the guy. He’s been through a lot.” Scott adds. “Isaac won’t hurt him though.” Scott says. Derek nods and adds “True, but keep in mind Eric is a bit older and has apparently had a rough road with relationships. It’ll probably take him a while to trust Isaac. Especially if he thinks he’s not good enough.” “I like Eric, he seems like a really nice guy I think he will be great for Isaac.” Stiles adds snuggling in closer to Derek while playing with his phone. “Yeah I know he was acting a little odd when we first met but I think he’s just shy and nervous. That and the whole I’m going to be a wolf soon thing.” Scott says breaking off when he notices Derek’s eyes narrow. “What?” “Isaacs getting upset.” Jackson says before his eyes widen. Stiles bolts up right just as Derek and Jackson growl lowly. “Eric’s in trouble.” Stiles yelps before racing to towards the front door.

The evening had been going well. They had caught a movie during which Isaac had not so subtly put his arm around Eric. Eric had frozen for a moment before leaning in to Isaac and putting his head on his shoulder. After the movie they headed to dinner. Nothing fancy just a quick meal at Chilis. They hadn’t wanted to stress Derek out any more than necessary so they had picked a place that was decent but still close to the house. About midway through the meal Eric had pulled his phone out to text the “all ok” to Derek when Isaac confiscates it. “You know what?” he says when Eric huffs at him. “We’re close enough that we could probably yell and they would hear us. Let’s just have some time to our selves. No phones no distractions. He pockets Eric’s phone and smiles.

Eric frowns a bit “I don’t want to make Derek mad. I’m brand new ya know trying to make a good impression.” “Derek likes you trust me. He smiles and puts his hand on Eric’s. Eric stiffens slightly but doesn’t pull away. “Is it me or that someone might see?” Isaac asks. Eric swallows and looks down. “Maybe a little of both. Even though I know you can defend me if someone tries to start any trouble.” Eric smiles softly looking at Isaac shyly. “What about me then?” Isaac says. Eric frowns again. “I feel like everyone is just looking wondering what we are doing together. I feel like I’m distracting you from someone who’s more on your level and you’ll find them and then….” Eric trails off and looks out the window with a sigh. Before Isaac can say anything he continues. “Look please don’t take that the wrong way. I was on medication for a reason I have pretty severe social anxiety. Just walking in the door I felt like everyone was judging me over everything from the way I walk to how I’m dressed to what I’m doing with someone as gorgeous as you. I know it’s all in my head but sometimes it’s harder to fight it than others. I’m sorry for being such a wet blanket.”

Isaac smiles tenderly at Eric a moment before speaking. “All I care about is you. I want you to be happy. I’ll wear a bag over my head if it makes you feel any better.” Eric smiles a little at that and puts his other hand on Isaacs and squeezes. “I’m sorry I’m not much of a talker we typically leave that up to Stiles he can talk enough for all of us. Just know that I care about you deeply and so long as you’ll have me I’m perfectly happy being right here with you. Also, and please don’t think this is the source of my interest in you, but have you really looked at yourself? You’re _very_ attractive. Yeah you _used_ to be heavier you _used_ to be losing your hair. Know what? You’re still the same guy. I liked you from the very beginning. If you were still 100% human and hadn’t changed I’d _still_ like you.” Eric smiles really smiles and Isaac is taken aback. For the first time since he’s known Eric he seems genuinely happy and open. “Now _that_ is gorgeous. Smile like that more often.” Isaac asks with a gentle squeeze to Eric’s hand. “Wow. I don’t know what to say.” Eric says clearly flustered by Isaacs statement. “You don’t have to say anything just remember what I said the next time you feel like that. You are _everything_ I need.” Eric’s face turns bright red for a moment before he moves to get up. “I’ll be right back, I need to use the little boys room.” Isaac starts to get up “I’ll come with you.” Eric shakes his head. “No it’s ok it’s just around the corner I’ll just be a minute. Honestly if you’re standing there waiting I won’t be able to go.” Isaac scowls a moment before settling back in his chair. Eric smiles at him before heading to the rest room. _Slow your role Lahey. Slow and steady wins the race._ Isaac thinks frowning and shaking his head. He focuses on the familiar and soothing sound of his mates heart beat and listens. He can hear the bathroom door open and then the sound of him relieving himself. The waiter comes up and leans on the table making eyes at Isaac and asks inane questions distracting him momentarily.

Eric finishes at the urinal and is about to turn around when he catches a familiar scent. He can’t quite place it for a moment. When he turns around he sees Steve standing there “Hey buddy!” He says brightly before punching Eric in the face knocking him back. The blow sends Eric’s head into the partition between the urinals stunning him momentarily. He takes a breath and opens his mouth “ISA” Before he can finish Steve has his hand over Eric’s mouth and is hauling him quite easily up off his feet and out of the bathroom. There is an emergency exit right next to the bathrooms that Steve hurriedly drags Eric out of. Eric struggles but is too weak to break the iron grip of the crazed hunter/wolf. Steve moves a next to a van parked by the sidewalk and turns around. “Any minute now, when he comes out finish him.” Eric see’s someone in the van and the barrel of a rifle. “No! Please don’t no! I’ll do whatever you want please! Don’t hurt him please! Steve please don’t do this _please._ ” He pleas struggling violently.

Seconds later Isaac slams through the door partially shifted eyes glowing furiously he stops when he sees Steve holding Eric and opens his mouth to roar “Isaac no GET DOWN!” Isaac locks eyes with Eric’s. “Now” Steve yells there is the crack of a rifle firing and Isaac flies back and slams in to the wall his head hitting with a loud crack. “ISAAC!!!!” Eric screams fighting violently to get lose. Steve laughs “That’s one dead mutt you got him right in the heart. Let’s get out of here.”  Steve easily flings Eric in to the van and climbs in the back with him. He slams the door shut and the van takes off. As they pull away the rest of the pack pulls in to the front of the parking lot in the rental van. Stiles parks sideways across 3 spots as everyone jumps out. They all head to the front door until Derek stops suddenly sniffing the air. “This way!” he yells and runs down the side of the building. They round the corner and find a disoriented Isaac slowly standing and shaking his head trying to clear his vision. “Isaac!” Stiles yells. Isaac looks up “Steve has Eric!” he says and starts looking around. “You’ve been shot” Jackson says pointing to the hole in Isaacs’s shirt. Isaac looks down and pulls Eric’s shattered phone from his pocket. Riffle bullet imbedded in the battery. “That’s wolfs bane” Derek says taking the phone from Isaac and flicking the bullet on to the ground. “That would have killed you instantly.”   Isaac shakes his head “It didn’t, we need to find him.”   Scotts standing over at the curb sniffing the air. “I have him Stiles get the van.”  

A few miles away Steve and his accomplice pull up behind a vacant building. Eric is bloody and battered. Having been pummeled nearly nonstop since Steve had pulled him in to the van. Steve grabs him and drags him out “Save some of that fight mutt I’ve got some fun planned for you.” Once they are inside Steve attacks Eric again alternating between punching then kicking and slashing with his claws. “You caused me a lot of trouble Reggie doesn’t like humans getting involved. That sure was some trick your friends pulled convincing everyone you were human. I know better though. Either on purpose or on accident you’ve managed to slow the transition. Tell me how you did it.” Eric spits in Steve’s face “Fuck you mother fucker!” Steve slowly wipes his face eyes glowing. I already killed your boyfriend. You’re weak and soft… I should kill you for the trouble you’ve caused me but I think I’ll let that pack of animals you hang out with do it. I’m going to make it so that none of them will want you.” Steve resumes his attack only this time his swipes are aimed at Eric’s clothes. He soon finds himself pants less and on his back. As Steve yanks his zipper down horror floods Eric’s face as he realizes what’s about to happen. “I can smell your fear slut.” Steve mocks positioning himself. He spits on his hand and rubs his member. “You’re such a stupid little cunt if he really cared about you he would have claimed you already. You smell like bitch.” With a grunt Steve plows in to Eric who screams out in pain. Steve barely pauses eyes rolled up before he begins to violently rape Eric while continuing to punch him.

Fury over the violation and horror over the loss of Isaac causes Eric’s wolf to roar in to life. His eyes flash yellow and he begins to shift.   Steve sees this and laughs continuing to thrust “Hey there wolfie” Eric gets a couple of good punches in before Steve slams his head back on to the concrete floor stunning him. “FUCK you’ve got a tight ass…. Been saving yourself up for that pack of mutts?” Steve bends down while still rolling his hips and bites Eric on the cheek then on the neck and shoulder drawing blood and causing Eric to cry out in pain.

Steve draws his claws down the sides of Eric’s torso opening up the delicate skin. Eric gasps in pain and convulses violently. The pain is excruciating. Light headed from blood loss and the beating Eric wonders briefly if he will pass out before he has to witness Steve finish. “Wake up!” Steve shouts slapping Eric across the face when he notices his eyes losing focus. “I want you conscious.” With a final snap of his hips Steve grunts before he pulls out and sprays semen all over Eric’s chest neck and face. Laughing he says “I’ll say one thing for wolves we can put any porn star to shame with the money shot. They’ll never touch you now. That smell will let them know you belong to me. I only wish your precious Isaac could see you now. Covered in my come like the little gutter slut you are.” Steve shoves back inside Eric with a violent thrust causing the devastated man to shudder. Steve snickers as he smears his semen around on Eric’s chest and face smiling wickedly.

Eric digs his hand in some of the debris on the floor and flings it in Steve’s face blinding him momentarily. He frantically jumps to his feet and tries to escape but Steve grabs his ankle and slams him back down on to the floor face first. Eric gets a good kick to Steve’s face before he is flipped over on his back. Steve jumps on top of him and delivers a series of blows to Eric’s chest and face. No no I’m not done with you yet. I don’t know where you think you’re going anyway. You’re mine now so you’re not even fit to be the pack slut. They’ll probably just kill you. You’re just a loose end to be tied up. I hope they do it nice and slow a painful death is the least you can have after what Reggie did to me.”

Just then there is a roar outside and gun shots. “Didn’t expect them to come so fast. Oh well change of plans then. You should thank me for this. I’ll be quicker than they would. You’re going to buy me time. Nightie Night slut hole.” With that he spits in Eric’s bloody dazed face then slams both clawed hands into Eric’s chest causing him scream in pain while arching up off the floor before crumpling down.

Moments earlier the pack had came roaring up in to the parking lot behind the other van. Isaac, able to feel the pain and revulsion from his mate has been snarling and growling nonstop. “That’s turner” Derek says when they see the other hunter standing by the back door to the building. Isaac explodes out of the van before Stiles can bring it to a stop. Turner’s eyes are saucers as he draws his gun and opens fire. Isaac is a blur of fury and retribution easily dodging the shots before going for Turner’s throat. Within seconds he’s minus one arm and nearly decapitated. His body hasn’t even hit the ground before Isaac is ripping the door off its hinges and running in to the building. He stops when he sees Steve crouched over a very still Eric. He immediately smells what has been done and goes completely feral. His guttural roar of pure absolute rage causes the rest of the pack to cover their ears in pain. Steve jumps up slashing Eric once more for good measure before launching himself up and away from the stricken man. Isaac rushes to his fallen mate. Eric’s lost a lot of blood. Too much blood and is unconscious.

Derek Jackson and Scott race after Steve while Stiles kneels next to Isaac who is sobbing wildly. “Eric please wake up. Please don’t leave me… no no no no no please don’t leave me Eric no. _please_ wake up” The erratic thump thump of Eric’s heart is slowing rapidly his body twitching slightly while Isaac looks helplessly at Eric’s face. He frantically looks at Stiles “I don’t know what to do! What do I do?” Stiles puts his hand on Isaac’s shoulder tears falling from the humans eyes. Shaking his head slowly as his eyes wander over Eric’s shredded torso. He’s seen enough injuries over the years to know these are fatal. In the distance a shriek of pain is heard followed by Jackson’s victory howl. Steve had not made it far. None of this matters to Isaac though as he watches Eric slowly bleed out. He’s rocking Eric back and forth brushing his hair out of his face sobbing uncontrollably. The rest of the wolves arrive and immediately know they had arrived too late to save Eric. They can all hear his heart slowing. Isaac manages between broken sobs “I never got to tell you that you’re my mate, and that we’re going to be together forever and that you’ll never have to worry because I’d never hurt you I’d never leave you. That I I’m going to spend the rest of my life making you happy.” Tears collecting on his chin drop sadly on to Eric’s bloody face. "You were going to be happy. We were both finally......going to be happy." With a heart wrenching sob Isaac realizes that Eric’s heart has stopped beating. Looking up at the faces around him Isaac sobs. “He’s gone.” Stiles pulls Isaac in to his chest, Isaac still clutching Eric’s shredded, limp body.

The rest of the wolves gather around tight desperate to comfort Isaac and each other. They all are touching Eric and Isaac tears trailing down everyone’s face. Isaac leans down and places a kiss on Eric’s bloody split lips. “I love you.”


	18. Chapter 18

Thump…Thump..

It was quiet and feeble. Derek was the first to notice it. Leaning down he places his head on Eric’s chest. There was another dull thump, then another. A few seconds later the other wolves heard it too. Isaac’s eyes shoot open. “His hearts beating!” “GUYS!” yells Stiles “He’s healing! He’s healing!” Looking on in awe they all notice that the previously flowing wounds were slowly healing. Eric’s body shudders and his eyes flicker open. “Isaac?” He mutters “You’re…. you’re not dead?” “Your phone saved me. It stopped the bullet.” Isaac says eyes wide with amazement. Eric slowly reaches up and wipes the tears from Isaac's face. “Don’t cry puppy I’m not leaving. I’ll be right back though.” With that Eric smiles weakly his eyes close slowly and he whispers “I love you.” Then he promptly passes out. “Wow.” Stiles says. “Lets please leave now.” Derek stands up and says. “Let’s get him home and cleaned up. Normally I’d say we need to get him to Deaton but……” “Just another reason to pack up and get the fuck out of this shitty state. It’s been nothing but bad news ever since they came back.” Rants Jackson. Isaac gently picks up Eric and carries him out of the building. “What should we do with the bodies?” Scott asks. “Leave them. Clean up the blood and prints here and wipe down any place in their van Eric may have left finger prints then meet us back at the house.” Derek says.

Back at the house Isaac lays Eric on the couch as gently as if he were made of glass and starts removing what remains of his cloths. A grim mask in on his face. Derek knows what Isaac is going through and places a hand on his shoulder. “He raped him Derek he raped him then killed him... As if he hasn’t already been through hell. He..... _violated_ my mate… The most sacred…… precious thing we have…Because of _me_ because of _us_! I’m supposed to protect him! Who would want a mate that can’t keep you safe? I’ve failed him _twice_ now."   Bitter angry tears make their way down his face causing him to wipe angrily at them.” Isaac gently strokes Eric’s bloodied bitten cheek with a shaking hand a low broken keening filtering out through his clenched teeth. “It’s not your fault Isaac Eric has been in constant danger ever since he stumbled in to our world.” “He knew there would be dangers.” Derek says “It’s not like he had much of a choice. Definite and immediate death or life with some vague mention of possible danger.” Isaac retorts angrily. “I’d be willing to bet he’d still make the same choice.” Stiles says. “He’s had a terrible experience so far but we’re almost to the full moon. He’ll finish his transition and be able to put all this behind us. He’ll be far less breakable. Plus we’ll be back home.” Isaac closes his eyes and exhales slowly nodding his head. “I’ve failed him again Stiles I got him killed this time. I was right there not 20 feet away and Steve a pathetic little Omega not even ¼ my strength was able to get him. He’ll never want me. Even if he does I don’t deserve him.” The smell of Steve on his mate makes Isaac's wolf want to shred something or someone. He wishes momentarily he had been the one to end his miserable life. Isaac growls furiously features shifting to Beta. “The stench of that mother fucker......  My sweet beautiful mate.... He'll never love me after this Derek.  _Never_.”  “Don’t let Steve win.” Derek says retrieving the first aid kit and beginning to clean and bandage the wounds that were still seeping blood. “That’s why he did it to make us suffer. Isaac growls again his yellow eyes staring blankly down at Eric. “Isaac. He died but he’s come back to us. Back to you. You need to focus. We’ll figure out the rest later right now he needs you.” Isaac nods and reaches human hands for the first aid kit and helps Derek tend to Eric’s wounds.

Hours later they are all in bed. Isaac and Stiles both curled protectively around Eric with everyone else on the edges. The whole pack is maintaining physical contact with their injured and traumatized pack mate. Isaac opens his eyes and looks at Eric. He frowns when he notices the grimace on Eric’s face. He relaxes slightly when he notices the grimace fade as he pulls the pain out of the new wolf’s body. He hears the _thump thump thump_ of Eric’s heart speed up as he begins to frown and squirm.

Eric is running. He’s in a dark building and he’s being chased by someone. Every time he thinks he is getting away the faceless monster is directly in front of him. Finally he is caught and slammed in to a wall. He’s clawed and beaten eventually ending up face down on the floor as his tormentor forces his way inside…

Isaac quickly realizes Eric is having a nightmare as he begins thrashing and whimpering in pain. Before he can rouse him Eric’s eyes snap open with a gasp. The sleeping wolves murmur squirm before settling back to sleep. Eric looks around while his heart rate returns to normal then the smell…. _his_ smell fills his nose. Isaac reaches for him but Eric flinches away as tears begin to well in his eyes. “I’m sorry I.. Just… I need a minute.” Eric whispers and climbs out of bed not meeting Isaac's eyes. Eric limps slowly to the guest bathroom closing the door behind him. He stares at himself in the mirror for a moment. _If it smells that bad to me it must reek to them. Isaac’s going to hate me, the pack won’t want me. I’m going to lose them all…_ "Worthless.....you are so worthless."  he whispers as he begins shaking while tears stream down his face.

Back in the bedroom Derek is whispering with Isaac. “It’s going to take some time as if things weren’t bad enough before now… After what Steve did….” Isaac's eyes flash yellow “I wish I’d been the one to kill him I should have been.” “You did what needed to be done you cared for your mate. If you had left him there even for a minute he may not have been able to come back.” “Was this a mate or pack thing that saved him?” Stiles ask quietly. He was laying between the two other wolves otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to hear their nearly inaudible conversation. “Mate, the pack bond is powerful but I’ve heard of the mate bond being able to heal a seriously wounded mate. I’ve just never witnessed it. You felt a little drained right after didn’t you?” Derek says looking in to Isaac's eyes. “I did, still do a little I thought it was just from the adrenaline rush.” Isaac answers looking at the wall knowing that on the other side his mate was in turmoil but trying to honor Eric’s request to be alone despite his wolfs demands that he go and comfort his mate. “You shared your energy with him, it gave him just enough time for his wolf to stabilize and heal the worst wounds. If you’d not been there right when you had been he would have died.”  

They hear the shower start. “You’re going to have to get Steve’s scent off him.” Stiles says. “The smell has got to be pretty traumatizing for him.” “The only way I can cover up the scent is to scent mark him in the same way.”   “Yup….” Stiles answers. “Are you forgetting the part where he was _raped_ not 5 hours ago? I think sex is the last thing he wants.” Isaac retorts hotly. Stiles frowns and looks away. “I’m sorry… I’m just trying to help…” Isaac runs his hand through Stiles’s buzz cut “I know I’m sorry I just..” Just then Derek and Isaac look in the direction of the bathroom. They can hear Eric sobbing quietly. The sound muffled, as he tries to keep quiet. “Go to him.” Derek says. “But..” Isaac says “I don’t care if he asked you to give him a minute you need to follow your instincts right now, what are they telling you?” Isaac slides out of bed “Protect, love, comfort.” He says as he moves quickly out of the room. Derek pulls Stiles closer and whines quietly distraught over the upset of his new beta.

Isaac slips in to the bathroom and closes the door softly. He gently pulls the curtain to the side and has to swallow a lump in his throat when he sees Eric.  Eric is scrubbing furiously with something meant to clean pots and pans.  His skin is red and bleeding in places from scrubbing. Eric looks at him shock and fear in his eyes as he backs away.  "Please don't....... Please.. I....I...I'm trying..."  Isaac's heart breaks listening to how completely shattered and distraught his mate is. “I can’t get rid of it I can still smell him I’m sorry I’m so sorry please don’t hate me.” Eric says between chest heaving sobs. Isaac quickly climbs in to the tub with Eric and takes him in his arms. “Shhh shh it’s OK.  I'm sorry I'm so sorry.” Isaac soothes.  "Why did he do this to me Isaac.  Why?  How could anyone be so......" Isaac holds him tightly while he wails loud and broken.  After several minutes Eric’s breathing levels out and he relaxes in to Isaac's embrace. Isaac gently leans the shorter man against the wall and reaches for the shampoo. “Just relax let me take care of you.” Isaac whispers in his ear. He gently massages the shampoo in Eric’s hair while Eric stares at his feet.. Eric’s fierce scrubbing had removed most of the dried blood and grime from his front but his back and legs were still a mess. Isaac takes care to gently clean these areas. “You don’t have to…” Eric starts “I’ll understand if you…. if it’s too much.” Isaac stops and tries to look Eric in the eyes but Eric is looking anywhere but Isaac's confused face. Despite the water and soap smell Isaac can pick upon the sharp bitter scent of self loathing, shame, and disappointment coming from Eric. “It’s OK I understand. I can’t expect you to want me after what he….. I tried Isaac I tried so hard but he was too strong… I couldn’t make him stop and now it’s too late..” Eric begins sobbing again shoulders heaving “Stop that. Stop it right now.” Isaac says starting to cry himself at how shattered his mate sounds. “Look at me.” Isaac gently takes Eric’s face in both hands and forces him to make eye contact. “Nothing…. _nothing_ that piece of garbage did changes how I feel about you. You are the most precious thing in the world to me. You’re not used, or tainted, or whatever you think would make me not want you. You are _mine_.” Isaac’s voice breaks as tears stream down his face. “Mine to protect mine to care for. _I_ failed _you._ None of this is your fault. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me I will do whatever it takes to help you through this we will do it together. OK?”

Isaac gently brushes the tears out of Eric’s eyes while Eric does the same to him. Eric exhales slowly and nods his head. Isaac is stunned to smell the self-recriminating emotions being replaced by determination and resolve. Eric leans in slowly, hesitantly then pulling the taller man down a little presses his lips to Isaac's. It’s very gentle, but the warmth and love that they both feel practically exploding over their bond is enough to take their breath away. “Can we sleep together tonight? Just us? I love our pack but after tonight it felt like I was being held down…” “Absolutely, um we can probably sleep in Craig’s bed if you don’t mind the smell of whiskey, and anger.” Isaac says with a smirk. “Ugh no thanks, I was thinking the living room on the sleeper sofa.” Isaac's eyes light up “Oh that would be great I can set it up where are blankets and pillows?” Isaac climbs out of the tub and quickly dries off before rushing out to set up the bed.

Eric eventually turns off the shower and then slowly climbs out wincing as the pain from his still healing body makes itself known. He slowly towels off and then makes his way to the living room. He smiles when he sees that Isaac has not only already made the bed but dimmed the lights and turned on some soft music. He looks up and sees Eric pause and then smile. Isaac tries to not stare at Eric’s lithe form. Even though he’s still covered in bruises and residual wounds Eric’s physique is a sight to behold. It seems like every day he’s lost a few more pounds and became more defined. Eric now looks more like a 20 something athletic youth than a nearly 40 year old couch potato. Isaac slides under the covers and holds them up for Eric. Frowning slightly as he sees him wince and grunt as he bends down to slip in to the bed. “Is it….. Uh can I hold you?” Isaac asks. “It would feel wrong if you didn’t.” Eric says softly as he snuggles in to Isaac's open arms. Isaac smiles brightly and pulls Eric in close. He buries his nose in Eric’s now thick light brown hair and inhales softly.   Mostly Eric’s scent greets him but there is still an undercurrent of Steve there. “I want his stink off me.” Eric says in a small voice. “You smell so good. It’s hard to explain but I want to smell to you like you smell to me. I can feel my wolf more lately. Feels like he’s pacing unhappy, anxious most of the time. When I’m with you though he’s calm, happy. He likes your scent. It’s… hard to describe. You smell like…” Eric’s eyes open wide for a moment and then flash yellow. “Mate… you smell like mate.” The voice is deep and husky.   He looks up to Isaac's eyes just as they also flash yellow. “You can’t imagine how much I’ve wanted to hear you say that.” Isaac says gently running his fingers through Eric’s hair. “Mate… It feels right but.. what.. I don’t understand.” Eric says looking down and pressing a little more firmly in to Isaac’s side. “Wolves can have sex with whomever they want, be in relationships with whomever they want. However, if you’re lucky you’ll find your mate. It is someone who your wolf instinctively is drawn to.” Isaac gently scratches Eric’s scalp with human nails enjoying the slow easy beat of Eric’s pulse and the gentle scent of contentment as he relaxes. “How does the wolf know?” Eric asks. “It seems to be different. For me it was the second I caught your scent on the wind. I ran through the woods and when I saw you with that Omega on you I knew. I......kind of tore him in half…” “I remember..” Eric says.

For some like Derek and Stiles it can take a while.” “They seem close but I don’t know if I would call them mates.” Isaac chuckles softly. “They danced around each other for years. The rest of the pack knew before they finally figured it out. They are taking it slow, I don’t think Derek’s told Stiles yet. Other wolves can tell though. You have no idea how difficult it’s been to not bite and mark you so everyone would know who you belong to. Wolves are very possessive.” “Why didn’t you?” Eric asks softly. “I wanted to give you a chance to heal, to get used to what’s happening before trying to force a relationship on you. I wanted you to want me for me not because the wolf says so.”   Isaac says softly his eyes flash when he picks up on the arousal coming from Eric. “I don’t want to smell like that bastard any more I want to smell like my mate. I can’t… give myself to you yet, I’m not ready… but we could do other things……” Isaac pulls Eric up gently and kisses him. “Only if you _promise_ to let me know if anything is too much.” Eric moans softly and deepens the kiss. To Isaac's surprise Eric man handles the taller man around and ends up underneath him. He runs his hands down Isaac's back slipping them under the waist band of his boxer briefs he gently kneads the tight bottom he’s been admiring. Isaac lets out a loud exhale of air and grinds his crotch in to Eric’s causing the older man’s breath to hitch. Isaac licks in to Eric’s mouth his tongue eagerly exploring his mate’s mouth for a moment before slowly moving down to kiss and bite at his neck. Barely resisting the powerful urge to bite in to the soft skin and lay a mark of ownership. Isaac slowly works his way down Eric’s smooth defined chest. Eventually he arrives at Eric’s waist. He kisses around softly before burying his nose in his mate’s crotch and taking a deep shuddering inhale of his mates scent. Without any preamble he grabs on to the stiff member and swallows it down. Eric stiffens and he whimpers as he feels his erection bump up against the back of Isaac's throat. Eric looks down and sees two yellow glowing eyes looking up back up at him. Panting heavily Eric thrusts gently into the tight suction of Isaac's mouth. After several minutes of this Isaac pulls off and says to Eric. “I want to taste you… Come for me…. now” Isaac resumes his work on Eric’s cock causing Eric to tense up and bite his knuckle to keep quiet as he fiercely releases in to Isaac’s mouth. Isaac moans and swallows his mates offering continuing to milk the still hard member in his mouth. Isaac moves up and kisses Eric passionately while he strokes himself. After a few moments he moans loudly in to Eric’s mouth and grunts several times as he coats Eric’s torso and neck with his semen. The two kiss deeply and passionately. Isaac smiling in to the kiss as he realizes _his_ scent is gone. He wraps his arms around Eric and pulls him close before pulling the blanket up over them. “I love you” he whispers softly. “mmmmm” Eric hums contentedly. “I love you too. Not sure what I did to deserve you but I feel like I’ve been waiting for you all these years without even knowing it. I feel like I’ve finally found home.” Isaac pulls Eric tight kissing him before growling out “mine” Eric responds by nuzzling Isaac under his ear and whispering “yours.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man this is a long chapter.....

Eric slowly opens his eyes and smiles as he feels Isaac’s soft breath on his neck. The house is quiet his hearing seems to be a bit more sensitive today than normal. He can hear the soft breathing and a little bit of a snore from the rest of the pack still in the master bedroom. No heartbeats though. Pressing back in to Isaac a little bit causes the younger man to tighten his grip around Eric’s torso. Eric sighs contentedly. A moment later a pair of soft lips gently kiss his neck. “Morning puppy.” Eric says turning around to face a sleepy eyed Isaac. “Hi gorgeous.” Isaac replies moving in to capture Eric’s mouth. “Finally.” He sighs. Eric raises an eye brow and looks at him questioningly. “I finally get to do this to, kiss you, hold you, love you. I’ve wanted too since I first saw you.” Isaac says pulling Eric a little tighter. Eric hums softly in response and puts his head on Isaac’s chest listening to his heart beat.

Isaac smiles happily when he notes Eric’s scent is now completely devoid of any negative emotions. Only Isaac, comfort, satisfaction, and love discernible. “You smell amazing.” He says softly. “Thank you.” He whispers. “What for?” Eric asks looking up in to Isaac's eyes. “For coming back to me. For giving me another chance to prove I’m worthy of being your mate.” Eric leans up and kisses Isaac deeply. “Thank you for taking my phone away and at Chillis. He won’t get away with what he did. I’m going to kill Steve and Turner before we leave town.” Eric says grimly. Isaac runs his hand gently through Eric’s hair “You don’t need to. Steve and Turner are dead.” At Eric’s shocked expression Isaac continues. “When we got there Turner was outside. I… could feel your pain, your revulsion. I knew what was happening I don’t know if the others did. When we got there Turner was dead before anyone else even got out of the van.” Isaac sniffs and his voice wavers. “When I got inside I saw Steve over you… you weren’t moving and were barely breathing. Derek Scott and Jackson went after Steve. Jackson caught him and killed him….” Isaac's breath shudders and he starts to tear up chest heaving as he starts to sob silently. “I thought I’d lost you baby.… you died in my arms.. I.. I felt like I was dying too…” Eric scooches up so he’s even with Isaac and pulls him in to a tight embrace. “shhhh shhh it’s OK puppy. I’m right here. You saved me, I’m always going to be right here for you.” Isaac kisses Eric urgently and just holds him.

After a few moments he calms down and relaxes. “I love you, my mate.” Isaac says with a sweet smile. “The words don’t come close to how I feel. I am yours in every way possible. Every bit of my heart every bit of me is yours.” Eric smiles brilliantly and sighs. “It doesn’t seem real that I get to have someone like you. You didn’t just save my life puppy… You saved _me_ I was lost. A mess, alone, you’ve changed everything. You saved me in every way someone can be saved. You are my happily ever after.” “We are a couple of cheesy romance novel clichés.” Isaac says snickering before leaning in and exploring Eric’s mouth slowly with his tongue. Isaac runs his hand gently over Eric’s face. “I love touching you. Feeling you next to me. Your skin is so soft like a baby… My baby boy.” Isaac says continuing to caress Eric’s face slowly moving his hand down to his chest. Eric sighs and tilts his head to the side exposing a long expanse of soft neck. Isaac growls lowly kissing and licking the soft skin. “Fuck how do you know to do that.” Isaac says. “hmmm?” Eric says dreamily as he closes his eyes. “Exposing your neck to a wolf is very intimate. It can mean trust, in some cases, in others submission. It’s…. very hot.” Isaac says shuddering as Eric grasps his stiffness and strokes him slowly while he continues his assault on Eric’s neck.

 

A few moments later they both hear the bedroom door open and some footsteps. “ _Man_ why is it so cold in this house. The poor human can’t survive outside of the puppy pile.” Stiles complains as he leans in to Derek’s side. “Hey guys you sure look warm.” He says eying their comforter enviously. Eric rolls his eyes and lifts up the blanket. “Come on, don’t worry we’re wrapped up in a separate one so you don’t have to see our bits.” “It’s OK I’ve seen everyone’s bits I try to just focus on Derek’s.”   Derek coughs out a rare laugh. Stiles hesitates for a moment before jumping on the bed and crawling under the blanket. “You guys are so warm.” He says squirming comfortably next to Eric. Derek watches for a moment enjoying the warm feeling in his stomach from watching pack care for his mate. He starts the coffee maker before joining the others under the covers pulling a squealing Stiles practically on top of him before reaching over and pulling Eric closer as well. After a moment Eric realizes Isaac, Stiles and Derek are rubbing him subtly. “That feels nice sorry for freaking out last night. It just felt like I was being held down and smothered by his smell…” “We’ll have you smelling like pack in no time. I have a sneaking suspicion you probably already smell much better.” Stiles says with a smirk. “He does.” Derek says with a smile. “The rest of the pack is going to do the same so be ready.” Stiles squirms around so he can look at Eric and says. “It makes everyone feel better especially after something bad has happened to one of us. Even though I’m not a wolf it still is nice having the physical connection.” “I can’t tell any difference between your touch and the others so you’re obviously pack. Isaac feels different though.” Eric says almost dreamily. “That’s because he’s your mate.” Derek offers.

Moments later drawn out by the smell of coffee Scott and Jackson make their way to the living room. They both eye the coffee maker for a moment before looking at the pack pile and hesitate for a moment before both of them crawl on to the sleeper as well. The inexpensive furniture groaning under the weight of six grown men.  Eric reaches out for Jackson's arm. “Jackson.” He says nodding when Jackson makes eye contact “Thank you.” Jackson nods back but says nothing giving Eric a quick squeeze on the shoulder before lying down. Soon everyone is nuzzled up against Eric who has his eyes closed with a happy expression on his face. For the first time his scent is that of contentment with no underlying anxiety or doubt. Derek and Isaac both look at each other wordlessly communicating the same thing and smile. The moment is short lived as they all hear the spike in Eric’s heart rate followed by a gasp and a pained moan. Isaac and Derek both start pulling the pain out however it quickly becomes apparent it’s not working. Eric grunts as tears begin falling from his eyes a frantic anguished whimper making its way past his clenched teeth. Scott and Jackson both snap to attention and also being trying to pull the pain out of their suffering pack mate. “hurts… hu… hurts soo much…BURNS! Help me….Isaac please” Eric gasps out struggling to breath.   Stiles looks frantically at the wolves feeling helpless. “Why isn’t it working” he asks in a panicked voice. “Deaton said this might happen the wolf trying to assert itself against the human parts.” Just then Eric screams out in agony his body arching up off the couch nearly throwing Isaac and Derek off. Then just as quickly as it came the pain attack ends. Eric collapses limply a broken sob of relief the only indication he was till conscious. “I’ll be glad…. when this… is over.” He says panting as he tries to calm down. Isaac sitting up now against the back of the couch pulls Eric in to his lap and wraps his arms and legs around him Stiles covers them both up in blankets. Isaac whispers reassuring things softly in Eric’s ear. “Not your fault.” Eric mutters in response to Isaac's guilty apologies for not being able to stop the pain.

Everyone turns towards the front of the house in response to the sound of a large truck. “Someone’s here.” Stiles says crawling off the bed and walking to look out the front window. “PODS” He says with a questioning tone. “That’s the pod I ordered. I need to sign for it and tell them where to put it.” Eric tries to get up but Isaac growls and holds him still. “Let Stiles do it tell us where you want it.” “Eric huffs and struggles weakly at Isaac's hold “Come on I’m not broken I can…” “You just had the worst pain attack yet, and you’re naked. Where do you want the pod.” Stiles says crossing his arms. A second later the door bell rings. “In the driveway with the doors facing the garage door. Put it on the right side of the driveway.” Eric says surrendering and leaning back against Isaac’s chest. “I’ll just lay here and enjoy my mates comfortable body.” Isaac smirks and kisses Eric behind his ear and leans back himself. Derek crawls out of the bed and goes to stand behind Stiles as he opens the door. Minutes later the pod is on the ground and Derek and Stiles are in the kitchen making breakfast.

“So I’m guessing this pod is how you’re going to move?” Scott asks. “Yeah they are pretty cool. They drop it off you load it up and they either store it for you or deliver it just about anywhere in the country. In this case Beacon Hills.” Eric replies eyes closed with a lazy smile on his face as Isaac gently rubs his hand up and down Eric’s bare chest. “I’d wondered how we were going to get all this stuff moved.” Says Stiles dodging the spatula Derek swings at him when he steals a piece of bacon. He smirks at his alpha before breaking the piece in two and offering the other half to the older wolf. Eric squirms around in Isaac's arms until he’s facing him and kisses him softly behind the ear before whispering “Let’s get cleaned up we’re both kinda gross from last night.”   “ _Finally_ you both _reek_ of come.” Jackson says from where he’s laying partially on top of Scott but mostly hidden from view under the blanket. “Damn werewolves and your magic ears.” Eric scoffs with a grin. Isaac smirks and moves to help Eric up from the bed. “I think you smell wonderful.” Draping one of the blankets around them Isaac leads Eric out of the room and down the hallway.

Isaac starts the shower while Eric leans weakly against the vanity. Smiling as he admires the view of Isaac's stunning bare back side. He feels a twitch as his arousal awakens. Isaac freezes for a moment before chuckling. He turns to look at his blushing mate with a warm smile. “You’re so weak you can barely stand yet the smell of want coming off you is so thick everyone in the house can probably smell it.” Before Eric can say anything they both hear “Yup.” From Scott and “God just imagine what they are going to be like once he’s full on wolf. Isaac’s going to be bending him over every flat surface in the house.” Jackson says. “You’re damn right.” Isaac replies causing Eric face to turn bright read. Isaac stands and takes Eric in his arms kissing him gently before helping him into the shower. “Something tells me Eric’s not going to be the only one getting bent over.” Scott says snickering. “You’re damn right.” Eric answers leering at Isaac’s stiffening member.” “Hot.” Isaac replies kissing Eric deeply.

At some point during the shower Eric finds himself leaning against the wall while Isaac does his very best to suck his soul out through his dick. “I…Izzzacc fuck.. shit shit ohhhh ohhhh.” Eric moans out biting his fist to try and keep his voice quiet. “Careful I’m gonna… stop I’m gonna unffff.” Eric whimpers out Isaac increases the tempo of stroking and sucking moaning himself as he feels Eric stiffen and begin to spill into his mouth. Eric shudders and whimpers as the young wolf slurps and sucks at his dick. The orgasm is barely over before Eric is sinking to his knees and pressing Isaac back. He takes Isaac's painfully stiff member in his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. Isaac hisses and moans rocking back on his legs pupils blown as he looks at Eric. Eric dives down taking Isaac in his mouth. He strokes him firmly while sucking and tonguing his Isaac’s large stiffness. “I’m very thirsty.” Eric says huskily looking up at Isaac’s yellow eyes while stroking him. “Can you help me out with that?” He goes back down on his young mate while Isaac’s mouth makes a “O” shape. Panting Isaac manages to respond after a few moments. “You’re so beautiful. You look so good Eric…. fuck you take such good care of me. You look sooo hot with my cock in your mouth. I can still taste you I’m going to fill your sweet little mouth with my fucking come.” Isaac thrusts up a couple times “Oh baby I’m coming it’s yours it’s all for you every bit of it.” With a shudder and loud barely muffled moan Isaac unloads in to Eric’s mouth. Having already bore witness to the amount of “love” Isaac was capable of delivering Eric was prepared and worked to swallow the ridiculous amounts that began spurting from the pulsing cock in his mouth. Eric continues sucking and jerking Isaac throughout his orgasm stopping only when Isaac pulls him up and licks into his mouth. Eric beats his cock that had never gone down while he kisses Isaac and moments later grunts in to his mouth as he comes again coating Isaac's stomach and chest.   Isaac hums happily and pulls Eric against him. “Gross I made you sticky.” Eric says softly. “Nope.” Isaac says kissing Eric on the nose. “You scent marked me. Now everyone will know I belong to you.” Isaac's wolf preens practically wagging its tail off it was so happy.  

“Guys if you’re done swapping bodily fluids you should come have breakfast. I can’t fend off three wolves for much longer. “Stiles’s voice carries from the kitchen. “Tell Stiles we’ll be right there.” Eric says. Isaac smiles up at Eric. “Magic werewolf ears huh?”   “Yup.” Eric replies. Isaac pulls Eric in for a gentle deep kiss. When they part he looks in Eric’s eyes “Mine?” Eric asks. “Yours…always.” Isaac replies. With a wince he slowly gets up off of Isaac and turns the shower off. They take turns toweling each other off and then walk in to the master bedroom. Isaac hands Eric his clothes to wear smiling at Eric’s raised eye brow. “I like you in my clothes.” Isaac says sheepishly. Eric smiles brightly at Isaac and puts his hand out. “Come on puppy lets go eat.  I’m exhausted but want to eat before I run out of gas.”

An hour later finds Eric wrapped up in a blanket on the couch sleeping peacefully while the rest of the pack is busily but quietly packing the house. Isaac eventually picks his sleeping mate up and lovingly carries him to the bedroom.   Isaac looks happily down at the sleeping form. Derek wanders in and puts his hand on Isaac shoulder. “He looks so peaceful.” Isaac whispers. “You both are perfect for each other. I can hardly believe the change in him. You’ve changed too. I’m happy for you we all are.” Derek says squeezing Isaac’s shoulder gently. “I never knew it was possible to feel this strongly for someone. It’s terrifying but I want more it’s like I’m addicted to the feeling.” Isaac whispers back. “That’s what makes love, especially the love of a mate the most precious thing.” Isaac pulls his phone out and snaps a picture of his sleeping mate. Derek chuckles softly pulling his phone out and showing him a few similar picture’s he’d taken of Stiles. “He doesn’t know I have these so don’t tell him.” Isaac chuckles quietly at the pictures of his pack mom drooling, or laying open mouthed. “Our secret.” Isaac says proud to be let in on this small secret by his Alpha. Eric squirms and makes content sleepy noises behind them. They look at him before quietly leaving the room and closing the door.

 

“He’s going to feel guilty when he wakes up and finds out we did nearly all the work.” Stiles says wrapping paper around one of the clock he’d just pulled off a shelf. “Not really his fault, he can barely walk he’s so week, plus you’ve got Isaac literally sucking the life out of him in the shower. We’ll probably have the whole house done by the time he wakes up.” Jackson says snarkily, smirking at Isaac’s glare. “Hey look at this.” Scott says holding up a picture frame that had been shoved to the back of the closet he was packing in Eric’s office. “That’s Eric” Isaac says looking at all the different pictures. Nearly all of them show a happy smiling Eric of at varying ages with what is most likely family members. “He never talks about his family did something happen?” Jackson asks sitting down. Isaac purses his lips for a moment. “His father passed away several years ago. Something happened between him and the rest of his family. He mentioned it before we left Beacon Hills. I could tell he was emotional about it so I didn’t pressure for details.” Isaac says frowning at the picture. “Twenty bucks says they disowned him for being gay.” Jackson says. “The whole family?” Stiles says skeptically. “I just want to get him packed up and away from here. I hate this town and what he’s had to go through here. From creepy neighbors to a womanizing roommate that claims to love him but just sat there and let him suffer after he saw what his last boy friend did to him. FUCK this place.”

Seconds later Eric stumbles in to the room bracing himself on the doorway for support beta eyes shining looking around wildly. “What’s wrong?!?!” he yells. Yellow eyes fading back to their usual blue when he sees no threat. Isaac rushes to his side wrapping one arm around him to provide support. “Nothing’s wrong we were just packing.”   Eric looks at him in confusion. “You were angry.” A blush makes it way to Isaac's face. “I well we…..we were talking about getting you moved and I just said this place was no good for you, that the people here didn’t care about you.” Eric looks past Isaac to the picture frame Scott was still holding. Eric’s face clouds up “I should have thrown that away, not sure why I kept it.” Isaac rubs Eric’s shoulder “We don’t need to talk about it, it’s not any of our business.” Eric closes his eyes and lets Isaac massage him for a moment. “No it’s OK. Really nothing too shocking or unheard of. They don’t like the thought of a faggot being in their family so they kicked me out. My dad knew. He always knew everything.” Eric smiles a little stepping further into the office taking the picture frame from Scotts and looking down at the images. Eric touches the picture of him and an older man lovingly. “He told me when I was 14 that I should love who ever I wanted to love but that some people wouldn’t understand. He said he’d help me tell the rest of the family when I was ready. He died a year later. At my graduation party I told my family… To say they reacted poorly is an understatement. My brother punched me in the face and threw me head first through the through the window in the living room.” The pack collectively gasps at the spike of pain and sorrow that momentarily floods the pack bond. “I was 18 so mom wasn’t obligated to care for me so that was that. She told me to and I quote “Get your filthy perverted ass off my property.” I slept in my car a block over the first night. I got a call from my mom the next morning.” Eric laughs bitterly. “I thought they’d talked it over and she realized they had made a mistake. When I answered the phone it was like she was talking to the most despicable vile person on the planet. When I tried to talk she told me to shut my mouth and listen, that I didn’t get to talk to her. She said my stuff was in the driveway and that I had until 9:00 to get it or it would go in the trash. She told me not to come to the door or to call or write. She said that she was disgusted that I’d tricked her in to sharing her home with something like me.” Eric stops and takes a deep breath. “So what did you do?” Scott asks softly. “I did all I could do. I drove over and loaded up everything I could fit in the car. I had planned on going to college but ended up getting a job and sharing an apartment with a couple of friends. I know people work and go to college but I was too messed up at that point. I have not seen them since.” Eric looks down and wrings his hands together his mouth trembling slightly as he tears up. Isaac looks at the shocked sad faces in the room and gestures with his head at the door. They all silently leave Scott pulls the door closed behind them. Isaac sits on the small couch in the room and pulls the chair Eric had sat in over to him so Eric’s legs are between his. He takes Eric’s hands in his and holds them while Eric stares at his lap eyes blinking rapidly as tears start to fall. “It’s OK.” Isaac says quietly. “Don’t hold on to it.” Eric shakes his head as he shudders fighting to keep the sobs inside. “Come here baby.” Isaac lifts Eric out of the chair and pulls him on to his lap holding his boyfriend close as the damn breaks. Eric’s loud heartbroken sobs filling the room. “They threw me out…. like.. like I was some kind of criminal I… I never knew they would act that way I thought I was going to be one of the lucky ones whose family didn’t care. They hate me Isaac. _Hate_ me.”

After a few minutes Eric’s spasms die down and he wipes his eyes. “It’s been almost 20 years and it still hurts. I can still remember the locks on their faces. My brother was immediately furious. Mom was disbelieving then angry and disgusted. My sisters just looked sad and started crying. I kept waiting…. I figured someone would call eventually.” “Did you ever try to contact anyone?” Isaac asks. “I tried calling my sisters a couple times. They didn’t want anything to do with me. The only way they would even answer the phone was if I called from a number they didn’t know.” Eric sighs and lays his head against Isaac’s shoulder. “You’ve been alone for too long. You’ve got the pack now. We’re your family and we’ll never turn our backs on you.” Eric exhales a jagged breath and wipes his eyes holding Isaac tightly. “Sorry for being such a baby.” Eric says. “None of that now, you’ve been holding that in for too long you have to let stuff out it’s the only way to ever get over things.” Sighing Eric rolls his neck back and forth trying to work a kink out. Isaac squeezes and rubs Eric’s neck and shoulders. “I know I’ve been saying that for years. It’s funny you know. Normally I’m the one doing the comforting and telling people it’ll get better. It’s nice to have someone look out for me for a change. You can come back in guys, thanks.” A few moments later the door opens and Scott and the pack come back in. “We’re here for you Eric.” Derek says. “Thanks guys.” Eric looks at Isaac and cocks his head to the side slightly. “You’re still upset I can feel it.” Eric pulls Isaac in to a full body embrace and whispers something in his ear too softly for anyone else to hear. Pulling back he gives Isaac a deep kiss. “Better puppy?” Isaac grins “Yes.”

“Want to go shopping with me? I need some clothes none of mine fit anymore. I’d be happy to wear your stuff for ever but you’re tall and big and gorgeous and I’m…..well I’m not.” Isaac leans down and buries his face where Eric’s neck meets his shoulder and kisses him lovingly. “Are you sure you’re up for it?” Stiles asks. “Yeah I’m still a little weak but I should be ok for a quick trip out. My gorgeous mate will keep me out of trouble.” Isaac sits up and smiles wider than the pack has ever seen before. “I know I don’t have to tell you two to be careful.” Derek says. He reaches over and ruffles both wolfs hair before Eric takes Isaac’s hand and leads him back to the bedroom to change.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I won’t be gone long.” Eric says slipping a shirt on. “You’re a magnet for trouble I’m not letting you out of my sight.” Isaac says stepping in to Eric’s personal space and kissing him gently. “Besides you might get thirsty again.” Isaac says leering at Eric wolfishly. Eric smiles brilliantly and steps in to the closet. A moment later a blast of terror his the entire pack. Eric explodes out of the closet flying across the room and crumpling on the floor behind Isaac. “GET HIM AWAY FROM ME! YOU SAID HE WAS DEAD YOU SAID HE WAS DEAD!!” Eric cries shaking, hyperventilating and cowering in fear. Isaac immediately shifts to beta and roars at the closet crouching protectively in front of his terrified mate. The rest of the pack races in to the room fully shifted. “What’s wrong??!?!” Scott yells. “Steve is in the closet!” Isaac snarls practically rabid with fury. “Scott!” Isaac yells commandingly and points to Eric as he launches himself at the closet with a feral howl. Scott moves to protect Eric while Derek follows Isaac in. A moment later Derek and Isaac both snarl angrily. “Get that out here.” Isaac says furiously. Derek rushes out carrying a towel and a shredded shirt. Jackson snarls as Derek passes him and the smell reaches his nose. Isaac quickly goes to Eric’s side. “Baby baby it’s OK Steve is dead it was just his scent. That’s all it was. You’re safe I promise you.” Eric’s eyes are clenched shut as he rocks back and forth in a near fetal position whimpering. In his mind he’s trapped reliving Steve’s assault and the humiliation he felt as he was violated. The helplessness to stop Steve. The utter worthlessness he’d felt. “I tried….I TRIED!” Eric cries out refusing to acknowledge Isaac. Isaac pulls Eric in to his lap and pulls him tight against him. “shhhhhhhhh it’s OK you’re safe I have you.” Gradually Isaac’s scent registers with the traumatized man and his eyes fly open. “Isaac?” He asks before throwing his arms around his mate’s neck and squeezing him tightly. “Puppy pile now.” Stiles says snapping his fingers. Isaac lifts his sobbing boyfriend and carries him to the bed. The rest of the pack kick their shoes off and crowed around the two on the bed. Within minutes Eric has calmed considerably and appears to be asleep.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you Derek.” Isaac says as he gently runs his fingers through Eric’s hair scratching gently at his scalp. “No need I should have been able to smell it.” Derek says guiltily. “It was covered up in all our scents he must have kicked the pile over when he went in. It’s my fault for not making sure that got thrown out.” “I should have put the towels from the cleanup in the washing machine the instant we were done. I know better.” Stiles says laying his head on Eric’s shoulder and stroking his chest comfortingly. Eric’s arms tightening around Stiles and Isaac. “Guys it’s OK. It’s not anyone’s fault. I’m sorry for upsetting you. It just….took me to a bad place.” Isaac leans up and places his hand on the side of Eric’s face and turns it gently. He looks in to Eric’s eyes with a worried frown. “I’m OK puppy really. Can we still go to the mall?” Isaac leans down kissing Eric’s forehead gently. “Only if you’re sure you want to go.” “I can’t let…what he did ruin me I have to get on with things.” Eric says slowly sitting up. “Let’s all go.” Derek says “We can get some lunch too.”

Soon they are all in the rental van headed to the mall. Once at the mall Derek Stiles and Scott went one way and Isaac Eric and Jackson went another. Jackson saying that he wanted to make sure Eric “Didn’t come back looking like a geek.” After a few hours Eric has a whole new wardrobe.  The pack is at the food court having lunch. Jackson runs his hand through Eric’s hair. “We really need to get you a haircut. We should get you a new style.” Isaac frowns “I think he looks fine.” Eric shakes his head. “No he’s right I’m pretty shaggy I could definitely use the mini make over. “Make over huh?” Jackson says with a smirk. He leans over to Eric and whispers something in his ear too quiet for anyone else to hear. Eric looks at Jackson for a moment then smiles and says “Jackson’s going to take me to get my hair cut can we all meet back up in an hour?” Isaac starts to disagree but Eric puts his hand on his neck and squeeze gently like Stiles had done to him. Isaac’s eyes close for a moment and he relaxes slightly. “It’s OK puppy we’re going to be here in the mall we’ll be OK I promise.” “You look fine you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. Are you sure you’re OK with this?” Isaac asks softly. “Yes please I’ve looked like a fashion reject my entire life. Thanks to Derek’s gift I’m alive, in shape and have a full head of hair. I want to look good next to my mate.” Jackson is looking through the bags of clothes they bought and moving some things in to one bag. “OK ready?” Jackson says with a genuine smile. “We’ll let you know as soon as we’re done OK?” Eric asks. Isaac shakes his head finally. “OK be _careful.”_ Eric leans in and places a gentle kiss on Isaac’s lips “mmm pizza flavored boy my favorite.” He says causing Isaac’s frown to turn into a bright smile. “Love you puppy.” Eric says smiling warmly at his mate. Jackson picks up the bag he’d been tossing things in to and grabs Eric walking out of the food court. “Wow can’t believe you let him go.” Scott says smiling. “He wanted to I could tell. I was perfectly happy with how he looked before. I wish I knew why he feels like he was so undesirable. He wasn’t _that_ overweight and definitely not ugly. I just want him to be happy, if Jackson can help him feel better about himself I’m not going to get in the way.”

“So what are we doing today?” The stylist asks side eying the mismatched pair. Jackson is looking perfect as always. Eric however is sporting a thick mop of out of control hair and is wearing both his and Isaac’s clothes neither of which really fit well or go well together. “Something simple and low maintenance. I really like short hair maybe a Caesar cut?” Eric asks looking at Jackson. Jackson stares at him for a moment before nodding his head. “Yeah I like that Caesar would look really good on you. Leave enough hair so he can pull off neat or messy.” The stylist smiles and goes to work. “That’s going to be a big change.” He says. “Yeah we need to give him something a little more age appropriate.” Jackson says winking at Eric “Yeah your 20’s are for having fun and being crazy. You can be boring when you’re 40.” The stylist says laughing. Smirking Eric asks “How old do you think I am?” Shrugging the stylist says “25-27 mayyybeee 30?” He stops and leans back a moment looking at Eric. “If you say anything much higher than 30 I’m going to want to know what you use on your skin because that’s the giveaway. So yeah I’m going with mid 20’s.” Eric coughs a little and looks at Jackson in the mirror who smiles back at him. “Yeah 26.” Eric says. “Definitely too young for this parted on the side nonsense.” 30 minutes later Eric and Jackson walk out of the salon. Immediately Eric feels eyes on him and his heart rate starts to climb. Jackson hears it and squeezes his shoulder. “Relax it’s going to be OK. Let’s go get you changed to complete your look it’ll make you feel better I promise.” Eric takes a deep breath and follows Jackson. They go in to the bathroom and Jackson stands guard outside the stall door while Eric changes. When he comes out a moment later Jackson smiles warmly at him. “Some of my best work, check out the mirror.” Eric walks around the corner to where the sinks are and stops when he sees himself. “Wow.” From head to toe Eric looks like the guys he’d always envied. Nice stylish haircut, cool clothes that hug his build flatteringly. Locking eyes with Eric in the mirror Jackson leans forward “I know you’ve felt that you didn’t look good enough for Isaac. First of all Isaac doesn’t care about that. He loves you. Really truly loves you. We could all sense it from the first day he met you. All he wants is for you to be happy. Second you’re a good looking guy. I don’t know who got it in your head that you were ugly but I’d love to rip their throat out for making you feel that way about yourself.. Even when you were heavier you looked fine.” “Thank you, I…. honestly have no idea how to repay you for this.” Eric says turning to Jackson and giving him a quick hug. Jackson hugs him warmly holding him for a moment. “I know what it’s like.” Jackson says softly. “To feel like no one truly wants you, that no one understands you. To feel so alone that if you were to vanish no one would notice.” Jackson stops for a moment rubbing his face softly on Eric’s shoulder. “Pay me back by being happy, make Isaac happy that’s really all you need to do. You’re my brother I want the best for you. Now come on let’s get you back to your mate.” Jackson leads the way out of the bathroom pulling his phone out he texts the pack and tells them where to meet up.

Isaac comes around the corner and sees Eric who is facing the other way. The first thing that catches his eye is the way the jeans snugly fit Eric’s nice round back side. “Isaac.” Eric says sensing his mate and turns. Everything Eric has on is perfectly coordinated and looks wonderful. The jeans look just as good in the front as they do in the back. The shirt is just tight enough to show off his sleek physique while also bringing out the deep blue of his eyes. Isaac stares for a moment mouth slightly open. Frowning slightly Eric shifts from one foot to the next. “Does that mean you don’t like it?” Eric asks softly looking down. Isaac finally unfreezes and rushes forward cupping Eric’s cheek in his hand and lifting his face gently. “You look amazing . I can’t believe someone so beautiful is mine.” Eric smiles brightly up at Isaac. “I’m glad you like everything. Here I got this for you.” Eric says holding up a bag. Isaac takes the bag and looks in side smiling brightly when he sees the contents. “Godiva chocolates? How did you know?” I texted Stiles and asked what I could get you.” “Your sweet tooth is pretty legendary dude.” Stiles says smiling. Isaac pulls Eric close hugging him. “Sweets for my sweet puppy.” Eric whispers in Isaac’s ear.  “God you guys are so cheesy.” Jackson groans. “It’s really a shame” Jackson says causing everyone to look at him. “I know as soon as we get home those clothes are going to be wadded up on the bedroom floor.” Eric blushes while Isaac says “If we even make it to the house.. I’m going to debauch you baby boy.” “Wow those pants really don’t hide anything do they.” Stiles says smirking. Everyone looks at Eric’s crotch which he hurriedly covers to hide his straining erection. “Nothing to see here let’s move along now.” Grabbing one of the shopping bags from Isaac Eric covers himself and grabs a laughing Isaac while heading to the exit.

Awhile later they pull up at the house and unload from the van. Walking in the house Derek freezes sniffing around. “Someone has been here” Eric drops the bags he’s carrying and steps in front of Isaac protectively. Derek takes note of his protective stance and bared teeth with a raised eyebrow. _Still human but instinctively protecting his mate_. Isaac growls and pulls Eric behind him. Scott and Jackson shove Stiles next to Eric and stand on either side of them effectively forming a ring of wolves around the two humans. Isaac, Jackson stay here with Eric and Stiles. Scott check the kitchen and living room I’ll get the other side of the house.” The wolves all fully shifted by this point immediately step to their assigned roles. Scott and Derek return a few minutes later. “It was those hunters.” Derek says. “Because of what happened the other night?” Eric asks. “Can’t think of any other reason. They didn’t leave anything just snooped around. “Scott says scowling. “They have to know that we would have been able to sense their presence. What are they up to.” Stiles says pacing nervously. “Being disrespectful is what.” Says Eric angrily. “They know pack dynamics enough to know my house is now considered pack territory.” Isaac stands closer to Eric “He’s right they know better than this. They are trying to provoke us.” “We need to get out of here.” Eric says. “It’s not safe, can we leave tomorrow?” “Yes” Derek says we can load up what’s left in the morning and be gone. “Is it always like this?” Eric asks. Leaning against the wall for support. Isaac pulls him close. “No it’s not, there are some rough spots here and there but we are for the most part left alone at home.” Eric sighs. “I don’t like being intimidated in my own home. These bastards have no right coming in here. We’ve done _nothing_ wrong. Ever since I’ve come back it’s been one nightmare after another. What’s worse, I doubt we’ve seen the last of them. Thankfully we’re surrounded by neighbors so we should be safe so long as we stay together.”

“Agreed” Says Derek. “We’ll order in for food and finish….” Derek stops and looks at Eric just as he starts to sway slightly. “God damn it.” Eric whispers as he puts his hand to his forehead and Isaac wraps his arm around him tighter. “Don’t have time for this.” gritting his teeth against the pain Eric’s eyes flash yellow.” Isaac slides down in the recliner in the front room and pulls Eric down on to his lap. “shhh it’s OK don’t fight against it you’ll just make it worse.” He and Derek start pulling the pain out “I’m going to get someone killed. We don’t have time for me to be weak and helpless. You’re going to be worried about me instead of looking out for yourself and you’re going to get hurt. I can’t be responsible for someone getting hurt. Especially you Isaac. I can’t protect you like this.” Eric stutters out as angry tears begin to fall. “No one is going to get hurt. Please calm down before you start to shift. You’re too weak for this you’re could really hurt yourself.” Eric growls through clenched teeth shaking and Isaac sees his ears start to elongate. “Eric _please_ , you’re scaring me it’s not safe for you to be shifting yet.” Isaac starts to squeeze his neck and shoulders. “Please don’t do this. Please… _.please._ ” Isaac whispers. That seems to do it because Eric closes his eyes and takes a deep calming breath. His heart rate starts to slow and his eyes return to their usual deep blue. He looks up at Isaac who starts to gently kneed Eric’s neck. Eric lets out a sound that’s a cross between a sob and a sigh. “I may have to quit my job before I even start because when we get home I’m going to wrap myself around you and never let go.” Isaac smiles happily down at Eric “I could handle that.” “No one has ever calmed me like you do. Promise me you’ll only use your Eric calming powers for good.” Isaac leans down and places a soft kiss on Eric’s lips. “I promise want to move in to the living room with everyone else and watch some TV or do you want to take a nap?” “How about both?” Eric asks with a grin.

An hour later Eric is dozing on the couch laying between Isaac's legs with both of the taller man’s arms draped around him. Jackson is pressed against him with his hand on his leg squeezing occasionally. Eric’s gently stroking Isaac's arm while Isaac strums his thumb gently over Eric’s heart. Stiles has them all watching Star Wars for what Eric finds out is about the hundredth time. Stiles starts to snore softly from where he is wedged between Scott and Derek on the love seat. He is lying mostly on Derek but also on Scott. They both look at each other and grin. Catching the movement Eric opens his eyes and smiles at them. “I’m surprised you’re still up.” Scott whispers. “Me too usually I’m long gone by now. It’s nice to just enjoy being with my pack.” Isaac kisses him on the back of the head. “It’s nice to be with people after my long self-imposed exile. People I can trust and rely on.” Isaac starts to gently massage and scratch his scalp. “I like you calm and relaxed. It makes me very happy.” He says. “You’ve been upset, worried, anxious, sad, injured, or worse from the moment I laid eyes on you. I’ll be happy when we’re home and can get things back to normal. There is a certain someone I can’t wait to build a life with.” Eric squirms comfortably against Isaac’s warm body. “Whoever they are I’m jealous.” There are three rapid puffs of breath on the top of his head as Isaac snickers. “Glad you made the bedrooms sound proof when you rebuilt the house.” Jackson says sleepily stretching out and lying across Eric’s lap. Eric blushes and starts massaging Jackson’s neck with his free hand causing the blond wolf to sigh contentedly.

“What kind of house you want?” Eric asks. He feels Isaac shrug behind him. “I don’t know I have not given it much thought. Haven’t really needed one you know? After Dad…… I moved in with Derek I still own the house it’s rented out but…” “I would never ask you to live there.” Eric says softly “You both are welcome to stay at the house for as long as you want I’ve got plenty of room. It’s the pack’s house it’s made for all of us.” Derek says quickly. “Tell me to shut up if it’s not my business, but you going to move” Eric gestures with his chin at the sleeping Stiles “In sometime soon?” Derek’s face flushes and he looks down at Stiles for a moment. “We’re taking things slow.” “Can I say one thing? Brother to Brother? Not Beta to Alpha?” Derek nods “I’ll say this and then back my soon to be snout out of your business. Don’t wait. Enjoy the time you have together. I’ve heard some stories about the things you all have been through over the past few years. You’ve lost people. You could have lost him, he could have lost you. I’ve nearly died, and then did die, Isaac for lack of a bit of plastic and electronics could have. Every minute, of every hour is precious don’t waste any of it waiting for what you both already know to be true. If he were to be gone tomorrow all you’ll have is your memory of him. Do you want those memories to be of pining and loving from afar or of time spent as mates? If you were to be gone and all he has are memories would he want only memories of want and not having or of being with the love of his life to help soothe the loss. I know I fully intend to love this amazing man behind me with every ounce of my being for as long as we’re both still drawing breath. You’re a good man, he’s an amazing guy you both deserve to be together as much as possible for as long as possible…. Please don’t wait our lives are too dangerous. You two need to be together. Now I’m butting out.” The room is quiet. Derek visibly swallows and only partially trying to hide the look of shock on his face for a moment then shakes his head. “I’ll talk to him about it when we get back.” Eric smiles and Isaac squeezes him tightly.

“I think it’s bed time.” Derek says standing up with Stiles in his arms. Eric yawns. “Sounds good to me. You’re all tired.” Then continuing while looking directly at Jackson “and lonely.” He reaches his hand out to him. “How can you…..” Eric shakes his head I don’t know I just can we’ll get you home to her soon come on puppy pile is the next best thing. To everyone’s amazement Jackson takes the offered hand and allows a stunned Isaac and tired Eric to lead him back to the bedroom. Normally Stiles or Derek takes the left side of Eric but this time Eric pulls Jackson in to his side and squirms back so that Isaac has his arms around him and the lonely wolf. The other men come in the room and get in to bed and hear what Eric’s whispering to Jackson. “She misses you too you should give her a call in the morning she feels bad that you two fought.” “How the hell do you know that?” Jackson turns looking at him. “I have no idea, I thought it was the pack bond. I get these snatches of thoughts or emotions. I don’t know what was said but I can sense the disharmony between you two that feels very recent. I just assumed it was a fight.” Eric says shrugging his shoulders.

“You can feel Lydia? How do you even know who she is?” Stiles asks amazed. “What about Allison?” Derek asks. Eric puts his hand on Scott’s hip who was lying next to Jackson. “Allison is Scott’s. I don’t get much of anything from her beyond warmth for Scott. There is some….. coldness there I don’t quite understand.” “Lydia is closer to the pack than Allison, there have been some issues with Allison’s family and the pack over the years.” Scott says unhappily. “I’m not sure if she’ll ever truly be pack. She’ll probably always be an outlier if she doesn’t go away entirely someday.”  The rest of the pack is shocked at Scott’s candid admission. He had always steadfastly believed that Allison would be one of them. That love would conquer all in the end. To hear him finally admit that the obstacles between the hunter and him may be insurmountable is heart breaking but understandable. Scott and Stiles had been the only ones fighting for her inclusion. She’d hurt several members of the pack. Isaac thinks back to her carving in to him with her knives.

He’s brought back to the present when he hears a loud growl from the wolf next to him. “She hurt you.” Eric snarls yellow eyes brilliant in the darkness. Everyone sits up and is stunned to see Eric partially shifted frantically searching Isaac’s torso for the long ago healed wounds small worried keening noises coming from him. “Kill her. I’ll … _kill her._ ” Eric is muttering, and shaking with fury. Isaac is saying Eric’s name and trying to calm him but it’s not until he grabs Eric’s face and forces him to make eye contact that he’s able to get him to stop. “Eric! It’s OK I’m fine. It was years ago she’d been manipulated in to thinking we were the enemy. “ “She enjoyed it.” Eric accuses. “You could smell it on her. Her…. her smug satisfaction as you went down.” Eric grabs Isaac frantically and holds him tight. Everyone frowning as their enhanced site allows them to see the tears making their way down his face. “She’s dangerous! She’s not allowed near you I won’t allow her to hurt you again!” Eric whines high pitched and broken sounding as he holds Isaac close more wolf than human. The other wolves shudder slightly at the fiery mix of fury, and protectiveness coming from Isaac's mate. “Shhh it’s OK. I’m OK nothing’s going to happen. This was a long time ago.” Isaac continues to whisper reassurances in Eric’s ear until he shifts back to normal and his heart rate slows. The energy drain from the partial shift combined with the emotional outburst causes Eric to slowly fall asleep once again in Isaac’s arms. Isaac gently lays Eric down and places a gentle kiss on his lips. “I love you, everything is going to be OK.” Derek reaches over Stiles and runs his hand through Isaac’s hair reassuringly. “That’s not uncommon, you two are getting closer and as the bond between you strengthens he’ll be inundated with your emotions and thoughts. You will too but will be affected less since your wolf is fully developed. Once he turns things should even out.” “Not just Isaac’s emotions and thoughts though.” Scott says. “That is something that I’ve not heard of before I’m typically the only one who can feel Allison or Lydia.” Derek says with a contemplative look on his face. Eric snuffles in his sleep a little causing the pack to draw a little closer to him. “I’ll let Allison know she’s going to need to keep her distance for a few days when we’re back. I don’t want anything to happen.” Scott says quietly. Stiles looks at his best friend sadly. “I thought we were past all that.” He says.

“He’s right though.” Isaac says softly massaging Eric’s scalp. “She did enjoy it.” “Isaac!” Scott whispers harshly. You can’t really think that she enjoyed hurting you?” Isaac shrugs “I understand she was being manipulated Scott but you didn’t see the look in her eye, or smell her…. joy at taking me down. It wasn’t a grim task that she was reluctant to do she was excited by it. The only reason she didn’t finish me off was because I pretended to be unconscious. You’re my brother Scott I’ll never fight you. I agreed a long time ago to give Allison a chance. But she has never felt like she is one of us. Not like Lydia or Stiles. It feels like even after all this time she’s holding back like she doesn’t want to be pack doesn’t fully trust us. I know she’s not said or done anything but sometimes she’ll get this look in her eye that reminds me of what she was like. I love you Scott but I’ve got so much more to lose now…. If something happens… I _will_ defend my mate.”

After a few moments of shocked silence Stiles speaks up. “Guys come on nothing’s going to happen. Like Isaac said that was years ago nothing has happened since. It just seemed so bad to Eric because he was experiencing it like it just happened. We’ll just take it slow and let Eric see that she’s not a threat. We’ve worked too hard these past years building our family to have it all fall apart now.” What Scott says next stuns them all in to silence. “You all need to know and understand. You’re my _pack_. I will stand with you against _any_ threat. I’m not a love sick teenager anymore. You’re my brothers, my family no one no matter who it is will be allowed to hurt you.” After it sinks in what Scott is promising Derek speaks up softly so as to not wake Eric. “Let’s get some rest. I want to get the pod loaded tomorrow and get out of here as soon as possible.”

Isaac’s words keep Derek from being able to sleep though. He’d never sensed any hint of betrayal from Allison in the years following her attack on the pack. He had noticed Isaac’s reluctance to get too close with her. The rest of the pack while friendly on the surface had also remained somewhat distant from the hunter. Derek had once thought that distance would keep them safe. Now he wondered if trying to keep Allison in the pack was a mistake. A sleeper agent amongst them that would someday turn. Argents had cost him nearly his entire pack once before. He was determined not to allow that to happen again. He’d not wanted to lose Scott so he had after much yelling agreed to a trial run with Allison. She’d made all the right moves, said all the right things. Even with all the years that had passed Derek now wonders if he’s made a mistake. He finally slips out of bed and quietly out of the bedroom. He makes his way out to the back porch and has a seat in one of the chairs. Sighing heavily he replays the conversation about Allison again and again. He’s not sure how much time has passed and is started from his thoughts when he hears the door behind him open.

He’s surprised when he catches Eric’s scent. Turning he sees the new wolf smile weakly before he slowly makes his way to the chair next to Derek. “You should be resting you’ve had a rough couple of days.” Eric smirks “I’ve had a rough couple of weeks…” “How are you feeling?” Derek asks. “Ridiculously weak, but better than ever if that makes sense. I feel my wolf. He’s stronger every day but it’s like I’m still running on human power. I feel like I’m trying to do too much with too small a power source. Just walking all the way out here was an effort.” Derek nods. Sensing the concern and residual fear he turns his chair so he can face Eric. “You’re concerned about Allison.” At the mention of her name Eric’s eyes flash brightly and he grits his teeth. Derek would swear he sees Eric’s teeth lengthen a tiny bit. Eric takes a deep breath yellow eyes fading back to blue. “I imagine you’re out here because you are too. Wondering if you made the right decision letting her back in.” Derek frowns. Eric’s eyes widen slightly and he looks down. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. I’ll leave you alone.” As Eric goes to stand Derek leans forward and places his hand on Eric’s knee. “It’s OK, you’re not being disrespectful. I’m not that kind of Alpha.” Eric nods and settles back in the chair before continuing. “I don’t really know anything of pack dynamics. As my leader I’d never question you in front of others. As my brother though I’d hope I could come to you in private if I don’t understand.” Derek leans back in his seat and shakes his head with a fond grin on his face. You’re a new wolf and you’ve already figured out what the rest of those dip shits have struggled to grasp for years. I _knew_ I shouldn’t have bitten a bunch of teenagers.” “You’ve done a great job. They love each other and work well together. I never dreamed I’d be a part of something like this let alone find someone like Isaac. I hope I won’t be a burden much longer.”

Derek shakes his head. “It wasn’t always like this. We had a rough few years in the beginning. Also, you’re not a burden, you’re pack, we take care of each other no matter what anyone needs.”   “I wish the transition would happen. I can’t be this weak. I can’t protect Isaac or the pack like this.” Eric says angrily. “From Allison?” Derek asks evenly. “From any threat, but yes I’m… concerned about her. I’m a good judge of character I’ll have to meet her for myself. When I saw her it was with Isaac’s eyes, with his senses. I want to see her for myself. I know that it was years ago and nothing has happened since. I just…. I pick up a sense of uneasiness from the pack in regard to her.” Derek sighs and leans back in his chair. “It’s been like that for years. Everyone gets along OK but honestly I don’t think anyone ever lets their guard down around her. Part of me thinks I should run her off, but the other part of me is worried about disrupting the pack.   She is useful, and a great fighter. Having an alliance with a respected hunter family has proven useful too.” “The problem though is that no one is 100% certain that she won’t use those skills against the pack…” “Again at some point in the future.” Eric says finishing Derek’s thought. Derek grunts but says nothing. “I’m guessing you let her back in because of Scott?” Derek nods “Stiles too. They were both pretty adamant about it, at the time I was worried that if I didn’t I’d lose them both. They were too valuable too important to let go.” “Well I don’t think you have to worry about losing Stiles now. Or Scott for that matter.” Eric says bumping his knee into Derek’s. Agreeing Derek says “Yeah I know Stiles would never leave now.” Eric nods and says “Scott’s also a solid member too.” “You can feel this over the bond?” Derek asks. “It’s still confusing it’s only been today that it’s really amped up.”

Eric grimaces a little working a kink out of his neck. Derek reaches over and massages Eric’s kinked neck. Causing Eric to sigh slightly. “Oh wow that feels so good. I’ve been sleeping too much my neck is complaining. I take it that my level of access to the pack bond is unusual?” Eric asks in between quiet grunts and sighs as Derek works on his neck. “Not unheard of. Sometimes people are more sensitive to certain aspects of our senses.” “OK I love what you’re doing but if you don’t stop I’m going to fall asleep right here.” Derek smiles “Come on let’s get to sleep. I’d like to get the pod loaded maybe we could leave tomorrow if you’re ready.” “Sounds good to me.” Eric struggles to stand so Derek helps him to his feet. They head back inside and slip back in to bed with the rest of the pack.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first little bit seems kind of goofy to me but I couldn't bring myself to take it out.

Eric wakes up and squirms comfortably in bed. With a start he realizes he is alone. Still half asleep he blearily looks around while his chest starts to ache. _No... Please no....._ He strains to hear his pack but the house is silent. The on again off again comforting presence of the pack bond is missing. He looks to where the back packs and duffel bags belonging to the pack had been and sees nothing. Swallowing the lump in his throat he falls back down on the bed. "Isaac." He says as he puts his hands to his face and starts crying softly.

He hears the front door open and someone hurrying down the hall. He senses someone standing next to the bed. "Give me a minute please." _Shit as if Craig doesn't think I'm a big enough pussy now I'm here practically sobbing in front of him._

The bed shifts as the new comer sits next to Eric. "What's wrong?" the voice that doesn't belong to Craig asks.

Eric lowers his hands and looks up in to Isaac's worried eyes. "Isaac?!" he asks. Quickly he sits up and pulls his confused mate in to a crushing hug. "Are you OK what's wrong?" Isaac asks hugging back. "I am the biggest idiot in the world." "You woke up crying, tell me what happened." Isaac says squeezing Eric gently. "You'll laugh. In my defense though please keep in mind I was half asleep." Taking a deep breath Eric continues. "I thought that none of it was real that I'd dreamed it all." Isaac stifles a snicker and pulls back to look at Eric. "Dream or a nightmare?" he asks. "The bits with you? Definitely a dream." Eric says smiling and pulling Isaac down on the bed with him. Isaac covers his mouth with his and kisses him deeply. "I'm sorry I scared you. Everyone is out front putting stuff in the pod. We felt your sadness the same moment I heard you call my name I came right in." "I was alone, I couldn't hear you guys, the pack bond is gone again, and your bags are gone." Eric says. "Stiles is doing laundry and took them to the living room." Isaac answers as he noses under Eric's chin kissing and licking around on the soft pale skin.

"I'm never leaving you baby boy you never have to worry about that." Eric gasps and grinds up in to Isaac's stiffening member wrapping his legs around Isaac's waist. Isaac groans in to Eric's neck and thrusts forward gently. "Want you….. So bad." Eric whimpers softly in Isaac's ear. A low growl reverberates throughout the room as Isaac thrusts again. "Need you… inside…. need your claim....  It's like I'm on fire Isaac. I don't just want you I _need_ you inside me.  I _need_ you to come inside me..... Need to bite you mark you mine.  It's so hard having to wait." Eric finishes with a high pitched whine. Eyes wide with lust Isaac looks in to Eric's eyes. "FUCK you can't say things to me like that Eric….I want to fuck you so bad. Anything, everything. I want to fuck you, bite you, claim you, make love to you, watch your face as I fuck the come out of you while you scream my name. Fucking _pound_ you until I fill you up with every bit of my come and make you mine. FUCK Eric you have no idea what you do to me. I'm going to fucking _wreck_ you. Just not yet." "Full moon?" Eric asks continuing to grind up in to Isaac's now throbbing erection. "We need to wait I'll hurt you I don't have enough control. If you weren't my mate, there would be no problem.  Since you are though my impulses are much stronger. Plus mate bonds work best if they are sealed on a full moon." He says panting eyes yellow beacons in the dark room. Eric whines pitifully again before looking up in to Isaac's sex fogged eyes mischievously and says. "Other stuffs OK though right because I'm quite thirsty." Isaac just makes a strangled sound of surprise as Eric flips him on his back and works him out of his cargo shorts.

Outside Scott looks at Jackson who is groaning. Stiles looks at them both. "What?" The bedroom is going to need airing out." Offers Derek "huh.. OOOHhhhhh" says Stiles with a smirk. "So I guess Eric is up." "Oh he's up alright." Scott says grinning.

A bit later both Eric and Isaac come walking out hand in hand looking quite pleased with themselves. "Horny bastards" Jackson says with a grin. Show up now that the work is done. Isaac drapes himself over his shorter mate from behind and kisses him on the side of the neck. "I feel like a total tool that you guys had to do all this work while I was either dying, dead, or getting in Isaac's pants." Isaac coughs at that trying not to laugh. "Derek can we all go out to dinner? My treat?" Stiles's face lights up and he Scott and even Jackson turn to give Derek their very best puppy dog eyes. "Fine, we'll be safer if we are all together anyway. Let's get cleaned up first though."

A couple hours later everyone was showered. Isaac and Eric had been expressly forbidden from showering together because no one wanted to wait while the two new mates explored each other.

Seated in a large corner booth at the restaurant the pack is eagerly eating their dinner. "Do you have a place picked out in Beacon Hills yet?" Derek asks. Eric shakes his head. "I never got the chance, the interview went really well so I had actually planned on looking after I was done with my little nature walk. Then stuff happened…." Isaac leans over and kisses Eric on the side of his mouth. "Bad stuff that lead to good stuff." He adds. Eric smiles warmly and leans against Isaac taking his hand in his. "It's all been worth it. I love you all. You've become the family I always wished I had." "There is a lot of room in the house. I think you should stay with us. At least until you've got your control down." Derek says. Eric opens his mouth but pauses for a minute. "Derek I…. there's just, I can't keep expecting you guys to baby sit me it's not fair to you." "That's a great idea!" Isaac says. "There is plenty of room, you can train with us when you're not working." "Eric I've told you before you are pack now pack is everything you're not a burden. Honestly it would be safer if you stayed with us so you could work on your control. The house is far enough away from anyone else that it's safer for you and.." Derek lowers his voice "humans" The pack picks up on the old familiar scent of anxiety and unhappiness. Isaac snaps his head around and puts his hand on Eric's shoulder. The new wolf is silent for a moment before reluctantly nodding his head yes. Just then the waiter comes to take their desert order. Eric excuses himself from the table leaving a troubled looking Isaac. Derek raises an eye brow and looks at Isaac who wordlessly follows Eric. Isaac has a flash of worry when Eric's scent leads out the front door and not to the bathroom. He walks out and finds Eric sitting on a bench on the side of the restaurant staring at his hands.

"I'm OK." He says without looking up. "It's pretty cool I was able to feel you almost from the time you got up from the table." "Can I sit with you?" Isaac asks softly. Eric looks up and meets his mate's worried eyes and smiles. "Always." "I'm sorry." Eric says after a moment. "I don't mean to upset you." Isaac leans over hesitating a moment before pulling Eric against him. Eric looks up at Isaac "You can _always_ touch me. Please don't mistake my moodiness for anything negative about you or us. It's just…" Eric sighs and shakes his head. "What?" Isaac asks gently leaning his head against Eric's. "Just a lot of stuff has happened you know. Things have been kind of the same for a really long time and now in just a few weeks, I've started to turn in to a fury creature of the night, I'm moving across the country, people have died, _I've_ died, you could have died, the hunters, the business with Craig…" At that Isaac stiffens and growls. "You've got nothing to worry about he's a lousy kisser." Eric laces his fingers with Isaac's and squeezes them.  "I've killed people Isaac." Eric says softly staring down at their intertwined hands.  "I'm sorry you had to go through that baby.  I swear I am." Isaac says gently.  Eric looks up and meets Isaac's eyes.  "I'd do it again Isaac.  In an instant  I'll destroy anyone that tries to hurt you." Isaac puts his arm around Eric and squeezes him.  "I know I'll be OK so long as I've got my mate and my pack. Feels strange to say that but it feels right. It's scary too. I've never had happiness last very long. It's taught me to not get too attached, to not rely too much. I feel like I'm already so far gone that if I were to lose you….." Isaac hums in agreement and closes his eyes enjoying the close proximity of Eric. "I feel the same way." Eric sighs and pulls Isaac a little closer. "I'm OK it's just going to take me a bit to get used to it you know?" They stand up to go back in side. Isaac turns and faces Eric taking his face in his hands and holding him gently. "You need to remember that you can _always_ talk to me. If you're feeling over whelmed, unhappy or anything like that please talk to me. You're not alone any more you don't have to do this by yourself." Eric smiles and nods his head. "I know, it's just… I'm not used to being with someone like you. Most of my relationships I've felt I was always just a few words away from being dumped." Isaac leans in and kisses him gently.

He draws back and looks over Eric's shoulder. Eric hears someone approaching and turns to see someone walking up. Isaac stiffens and moves to place himself between Eric and the new comer. "Can you spare 5.00 I need money for gas so I can get home." The guy says. Eric's heard the story a hundred times and usually does not give any money. Feeling charitable this time though he steps out from behind Isaac and goes to pull out his wallet. Just as he pulls a 5 out the guy surges forward. Isaac darts forward shoving Eric out of the way when he catches sight of the glint of metal in his hand. A fraction of a second later he yelps as the knife sinks in to his side. The assailant curses and runs away as Isaac staggers against Eric. "ISAAC!" Eric screams as he feels the extra weight of his boyfriend against him and hears Isaac's jagged gasp. Eric quickly turns around and puts his arms around Isaac helping him to sit down yelling for the pack at the same time who were already halfway out the door. "It's OK I'll be fine it's nothing." Isaac says trying to reassure his panicking boyfriend. "Isaac he stabbed you!" Eric says frantically lifting up Isaac's bloody shirt. "What happened?" says Stiles who had somehow managed to be the first out the door. "Isaac's been stabbed." Eric chokes out whimpering as he checks Isaac's side. "I'm fine I promise it's probably already closed up." Isaac says softly. Eric sees a small pink line where the wound was moments before and pulls Isaac into a tight hug. "See it's OK a knife is nothing to us." "Don't you _ever_ do that again!" Eric scolds as tears rain from his eyes. "Not you Isaac not you! You've been through enough! I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt protecting me. I can take care of myself." "Stiles go back in and pay before they call the police on us for dine and dash." Derek says handing Stiles his credit card. "Promise me you won't do anything like that again." Eric says looking Isaac in the eyes. Isaac shakes his head no. "No I can't do that. I've failed you twice already I'll walk through fire to keep you safe I will always put your safety ahead of mine." "I've had much worse than this I'm fine really." Eric's eyes lose focus for a moment then "You're thinking of Allison…" Isaac looks surprised for a moment then relaxes his features "Don't worry about her, I'm OK I promise."

The rest of the pack looks at Eric in alarm as his breathing speeds up. "Guys" Eric says. Isaac takes Eric's face in his hands and lifts it up "Baby what's wrong." "I don't know. My wolf, he's….. so _angry_ I can't stop him." Eric's eyes flash bright yellow and his face begins to shift. "Holy crap we have to get him out of here." Scott says. Derek reaches for Eric to get him to the van but stops when Eric growls at him low and dangerous. "Isaac get him to the van." Isaac stands Eric up and starts walking him towards the van. "Can't…. Can't….." Eric grunts out his voice low and dangerous sounding. "Want to hurt people. Help…. Derek you promised I wouldn't…help.. help me" At that he stops and throws his head back and roars in both pain and fury. It takes all four of them to get Eric in to the van. Stiles comes rushing out and jumps in the driver's seat while the rest of the pack try to hold down Eric. There is a crack and Jackson whimpers holding his side "FUCK why is he so strong?" After one of Eric's knees catches him in the side. "ERIC STOP!" yells Derek practically blasting the thrashing wolf over the pack bond with the alpha command. It has little to no affect. Isaac maneuvers himself around on top of Eric and yells his name. "ERIC!" Eric's crazed eyes focus on him and in an instant he stops thrashing. There is a faint spark of recognition, then Eric inhales taking in the scents of the wolves and most importantly his mate. "You're safe you're with pack. I love you." Eric blinks a few times. "Pack, safe… mate" The tension drains out of Eric's body as he relaxes. He doesn't shift back to human but the crazed/feral look leaves his eyes. "Isaac?" A tired smile spreads across Isaac's face. "Hey baby boy." He says to Eric. "Did I hurt anyone?" Yellow eyes going wide "Did I hurt you?! I can smell your blood." "It's OK it wasn't you I'm fine. You got upset and shifted to Beta. Can you switch back? Think about me, and how you feel about me, how I feel about you. Think about how much I love you." Eric says nothing but blinks his eyes a few times after a few moments his features slowly shift back to human. "So tired…. Please promise me you're OK? Derek is he really OK?" Derek smiles down at Eric "He's telling the truth, he is fine. We're going to take you home and get you to bed. You need to rest. You're too human to be pulling off a full beta shift."

Eric just nods his head blinking sleepily. He makes grabby hands at Isaac. "Cuddles please." He says as Isaac pulls him in to his lap. "Love you puppy." Eric mumbles out before he reaches for Derek and pulls the surprised alpha practically on top of him and Isaac. Seconds later he is sound asleep. "Can we please have a single day where someone doesn't try to kill my mate? Please?! FUCK I hate Texas…." Isaac says growling and shaking his head. "He is an even bigger magnet for trouble than Stilinski…" Scoffs Jackson trying to subtly maintain contact with the sleeping man.

Back at the house Isaac gingerly gets out of the van carrying the lightly snoring Eric. He follows Derek in through the front door and walks back to the bedroom gently depositing his sleeping boyfriend in the bed. He quickly strips Eric down to his underwear before doing the same and sliding in bed next to him. Jackson surprises everyone by cuddling up next to Eric on the other side and putting his arms about him and Isaac. Scott shimmy's out of his clothes and crawls up next to Jackson before pulling the blankets over the whole group.

Out in the living room Derek and Stiles are relaxing on the couch. "Never a dull moment eh?" Stiles says yawning loudly. Derek smirks and pulls Stiles closer. The younger man smiles and eagerly snuggles in to his boyfriend's side. "I'm glad we're leaving tomorrow." Derek says. "Pack up what little bit is left and get out of here." He starts gently massaging Stiles's neck eliciting a deep contented sigh and slight shudder from him. "Agreed. We need to get back to Beacon Hills as quickly as possible. He went full beta tonight it may be safe to assume he's about to fully transition. He may not last until the full moon." "If that happens we won't be able to contain him. He's very strong, much stronger than he should be." Derek adds pulling Stiles a little closer. "Can we sleep out here tonight?" Stiles asks. Derek looks at him a moment. "I love the puppy pile, probably more than anyone but I just… I want my alpha all to myself tonight…" He finishes with a blush. Derek smiles. "I love being your Alpha." Stiles smiles back. "I love being your… What ever I.." "Mate" Derek says finishing Stiles's sentence for him. At the word Mate Stiles's eyes light up and Derek beams at the scent of pure joy and love coming from Stiles. "I wondered when you were going to tell me." Stiles says. "I've put it off far longer than I should have. I..I love you Stiles…. I have for a _very_ long time." Stiles is shocked at the sudden admission. He's known for ages how Derek felt but figured they were a long way off from any kind of verbal declaration. "I love you too… I think I always have... The more you tried to push me away the more I was determined to stay. I knew I'd wear you down eventually." Stiles smirks as Derek draws him in for a kiss. "Would you… if you want.. maybe move in with us when we get back?" Derek asks nervously when they break apart. Stiles looks at Derek with wide eyes. "I don't want to wait any more Stiles I've waited so lo.." The rest of Derek's sentence is cut off when Stiles climbs on top of him and crashes their mouths together.


	21. Chapter 21

Eric wakes to soft breathe on his shoulder. He initially thinks its Isaac but soon realizes he's Big Spoon to Isaac and little spoon to Jackson. _Guess we bonded at the mall…_ Eric thinks. He'd noticed and been warned about Jackson's aloof arrogance and told not to take it personally. The preppy wolf had definitely warmed to Eric in recent days much to Eric's relief. Given his history with anxiety Eric had not looked forward to being mocked or teased by his new brother. Eric gives Isaac a gentle squeeze and sighs happily. Isaac wakes up and smiles at Eric. He moves up to plant a welcome kiss on Eric's lips. "Good morning beautiful" Isaac whispers. "Good morning puppy. I love you" Eric whispers back. Isaac beams at his mate "How are you feeling? Are you sore or anything after your shift last night?" "Like I pulled every muscle in my body, and my face hurts but nothing major… I….." Eric pauses and looks around the room. "What is it?" Isaac asks. Eric smiles at him. "I can see. I can see far better than before and I don't have my glasses on." Isaac smiles. "That's great news. I'm glad you're not too sore. Changing involves a lot of bone and tissue rearranging our healing ability is what makes us able to do it effortlessly. I wasn't sure what you would be like with your healing still not where it should be." Isaac says squirming a little.

Scott's practically on top of him and while Isaac's taller Scott's stout and muscular frame is heavy. Eric's face clouds a bit. "Uh Can I talk to you…outside for a minute?" Eric asks. The spike of anxiety unsettling Isaac. "Sure come on." The two men work their way out of bed and then step out the front door in to the dark early morning. Once outside Eric walks to one of the trees and leans against it and looks nervously at Isaac before moving forward a few steps hands in front of him pleadingly. "I'm really sorry for what happened last night. I didn't mean to shift. I didn't mean to resist you and the pack. I never want to upset you or hurt anyone. Can you forgive me?" Isaac having been worried this talk was about something else sees the tears welling in Eric's eyes and rushes forward taking him in his arms. He inhales deeply pulling Eric's scent deep inside and exhales slowly before looking in to his eyes. "My sweet gentle mate. You don't have to apologize for that. It wasn't anything you had control over you're brand new, not even fully turned yet. No one is angry at you least of all me. Absolutely no harm was done. Well except for Jackson's ribs but he needs to be knocked around once in a while to keep him humble." "You're not mad then?" Eric asks softly. "Do I smell mad to you?" Isaac asks. Eric closes his eyes and inhales like Isaac had moments before smiling and looking up into Isaac's loving blue eyes. "You smell like the beautiful boy crazy enough to love me. Who I want very much to climb like a tree." Both wolves lean in to a passionate kiss quickly broken up by the sound of a car approaching.

"I guess we shouldn't be making out in the front yard in our underwear huh? At least it's still dark." Isaac says pulling back with a smile on his face. "Especially not with your giant boner good god Isaac look at the size of that thing." Eric laughs giving Isaac's large erection a gentle but firm tug and a squeeze. Isaac inhales sharply closing his eyes. Eric leers hungrily at Isaac when he feels Isaac's stiffness throb in his hand. "I've got plans for this, puppy" Eric says lustily. Pulling Isaac down for a quick kiss before reluctantly releasing his mates stiffness and ushering him back inside. Isaac gives Eric a playful smack on the bottom and follows him back in the house. "We're not usually the first ones up since you're always taking care of me, let's make breakfast for the pack." Eric suggests. "I love taking care of you." Isaac says placing kisses across the shorter man's shoulder and up the back of his neck. Ending with a firm bite and soft low growl. Eric shivers and tries to but partially fails to stifle a whimper as the growl vibrates his chest. "mmmmm luckiest man in the world right here." Eric says raising his hand and leaning back in to Isaac's warmth.

At that they both walk in to the kitchen waving silently to Derek who was sitting up in bed on the sleeper sofa with Stiles sleeping on his chest. Once the smells of breakfast begin Stiles squirms comfortably against Derek and opens his eyes. "Something smells awesome." He says yawning and stretching. "Pancakes, bacon and eggs and French toast courtesy of that beautiful boy right there." Eric says pointing at Isaac. Isaac turns from the sink and does a deep bow before flicking the water off his fingers at Eric then digging them in his side tickling him causing him to flinch and laugh while pushing Isaac away. It's a beautiful content open mouth laugh that none of them had ever seen before. Eric's happiness and ease thrums over the pack bond. Stiles and even Derek smile brightly at this. Isaac has a warm gentle smile on his face. Eric stops when he notices the three of them staring at him. "What?" he says with a smile. Isaac steps forward and cups Eric's cheek looking down in to the happy blue eyes. "God you're so beautiful. Every once in a while you gift us with a peek. We get to see past what people have done to you. We get to see how gentle and sweet you are. Sometimes it's in person, sometimes it's just a sense of you over the pack bond. Just now it was both. Words can't describe how happy you make me. I don't know how well this will work. I don't try to directly manipulate the bond often. Let's see if you can feel this. Isaac looks in to Eric's eyes and concentrates. He imagines Eric and all his feelings for him and attempts to push that over the pack bond. Eric is quiet for a minute then exhales sharply as the warmth floods in to him over the bond. It's all there Isaac's warmth, gentleness, love, protectiveness, fear of Eric being taken from him, fury at anyone who would upset or sadden his mate, fierce devotion and to a fairly strong degree the almost overwhelming amount of desire and passion he has for his mate. Across the room Stiles blushes as he picks up on the stronger emotions flooding the bond. Slowly a grin forms on Derek's face as he enjoys the happiness of his two betas. Isaac's absolute joy and adoration for Eric shining in to everyone's minds.

Eric concentrates and sends his own feelings right back. His emotions are an almost direct mirror of Isaac's. Isaac pulls away and gives Eric a long gentle kiss. As if seemingly waking from a trance Eric's eyes come back in to focus and he smiles warmly up at Isaac. "We're going to need to air out the bedroom again aren't we." Jackson says from the doorway where he and Scott were standing and staring open mouthed at the two having been brought out of a sound sleep by the flood of emotions over the pack bond.

"Two things." Derek says as he sweeps a squawking Stiles up in to his arms bridal style. "First, I need to teach you two how to use the mate bond for stuff like that, what you showed each other you also showed all of us." Isaac and Eric look around at everyone with deep red faces. "Second, Stiles and I will be in the shower" At that Derek quickly walks out of the room with a beaming horny Stiles whispering not too quietly what he wants Derek to do to him.

Eric looks at the shocked and slightly green faces of Scott and Jackson with a raised eye brow. "It's not that they are gay for each other that bothers everyone." Isaac says pulling Eric close. "Stiles is our pack mom, so it's like thinking of your parents having sex." "I see…" Eric says. "Guys, we made breakfast enjoy." "Puppy?" Eric says looking up at Isaac. "Bed…. _now_." Eric goes to lead Isaac out of the room but is quickly swept up the same way Stiles was and is carried quickly out of the room. "Try not to break him in half Lahey." Jackson snarks as the two brush past. They ignore the muffled sounds coming from the hall bathroom and rush in to the master Isaac kicking the door shut before crawling on the bed with his mate.

Three orgasms each later Isaac is gently massaging shampoo in to Eric's hair in the shower. "I love bathing you, I hope you don't think it's weird. It's a wolf thing…. grooming you." He says shyly. "I love having your hands on me. I'm not used to someone caring for me like you do. It's nice." Eric replies lazily "I'm going to spoil you so much." Isaac says kissing Eric softly. "I'm going to push back my start date. I want to spend some time with you and the pack once we get to Beacon Hills. Time away from all the bull shit we've had here in Texas. I want to spent several days fully turned doing nothing but running in the woods with my pack and spending time with you. Not just sex well I anticipate lots of sex, but I just want to be with you. Sit with you hold you, be around you." "I like that idea. I like that a lot." Isaac says squirming as Eric lathers him up with body wash. A short while later they were both getting dressed. Eric sees Isaac looking at him out of the corner of his eye. "What?" he asks with a grin. "I like your hair cut." Isaac says running his hands through Eric's short hair. "The clothes are nice too. Let's people see what they can't have." Eric blushes then slips a shirt on. "You're going to spoil me with all this attention." Eric says leaning in to Isaac's side. "That's the intention." Isaac says kissing Eric on the top of the head. Just then Eric phone beeps with an incoming text message. Isaac hands it to Eric and walks in to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Eric smiles at his boyfriend and checks to see who the message is from. His smile fades a little when he sees who it's from.

From Craig: I know you're leaving soon. I want to see you before you go. Can you meet me today?

"What's wrong?" Eric looks up to see Isaac watching him from the bathroom door. Tooth paste leaking a little from the side of his mouth tooth brush sticking out the other. "Craig wants me to meet him today." Isaac's eyes narrow before he turns around and goes back in the bathroom without saying anything. Eric hears the water run and Isaac spitting the tooth paste out but then nothing. He feels a flash of anger and apprehension over the pack bond hit him like a blast of cold water to the face. Moving quickly Eric walks to the bathroom. He sees Isaac glaring in to the mirror yellow eyes glowing as he tightly grips the counter. Eric frowns at the sight and steps forward hesitantly. Placing his hand between Isaac's bare shoulder blades Eric frowns when he feels his mate flinch. "Isaac?" Eric says softly. Isaac growls softly then closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them again his eyes have returned to normal. "I don't _like_ him. I don't _trust_ him." Eric can tell that's not all though. He can sense it from some place other than intuition other than the pack bond. It's deep seated old but potent. With a flash he sees a burst of memories. Isaac's father is beating him, telling him how worthless he is, how ashamed he is of him and, no one would ever want such a lousy…. At that a fist comes towards Isaac's face and everything goes black. Eric's breath hitches in his throat causing Isaac to turn and look at him in alarm. "I saw your father again." Isaac's eyes go wide. "You're worried you're going to lose me to him, that he'll convince me to stay, that you don't deserve me." Eric says looking up in to Isaac's sad eyes. Isaac closes his eyes for a moment before shaking his head yes. Eric's heart clenches when he sees tears starting to work their way past Isaac's clenched eye lids. In the gentlest of voices Eric rubs his hands down Isaac's arms. "Look at me. It's OK everything is fine." He says. Isaac shudders as his heart races even faster. "I can't lose you Eric.. I c c can't." He opens his eyes and looks down at his mate. "You say I've saved you… But _you've_ saved _me._ It… It's like I'm broken and every time you touch me, every time you look at me with that shy smile…It's like you're putting me back together. I know it sounds cheesy but it's the truth. I'm not going to tell you not to meet him I'm just….." Eric shakes his head and pulls Isaac down for a kiss. He brushes his lips gently against Isaac's at first then goes in for a deeper kiss.

"I know what your dad did to you what he used to say. That you were worthless, a disappointment, that no one would want you. You're not worthless, _I_ want you. I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone in my life. Your dad was a fool to say those things to you every one of them was a lie. You are never going to have to worry about losing me to anyone. Least of all Craig. On his very best day he's not half of what you are to me. I am going to go talk to him." Eric can practically feel Isaac's heart clench at this. "You're coming with me though." Isaac looks at him in surprise. Craig is one of the few friends that I have. I've known him for many years. I don't want to just disappear without saying goodbye. You however, are my mate, my boyfriend, maybe someday you'll ask me to be your husband." At that Eric feels a flash of something akin to shocked anticipation or hope from Isaac ripple over the bond. "I want you to come with me, you're welcome to stay within ear shot so you can hear what's being said then after that maybe we'll have lunch or something. Puppy this isn't the end, this isn't a problem regardless of what he has to say he's going to get 5-10 minutes to say it then I'm leaving with you and never looking back. My future is with you my mate." Eric reaches up and wipes the tears off Isaac's face and pulls him in for a tight hug. "I love you so much, I'm sorry for being such a jack ass." Isaac whispers. "You are perfect, you are everything I need I will never leave you. Provided you don't start treating me like crap or cheating on me." Eric says with a snicker. "Or denying me your body any idea how hot you look with your muscles all popped out and straining?" Isaac smiles at him relief and love rolling off him in waves. "Thanks for not ripping the counter top off."

He says then gives Isaac a questioning look when he sees the confusion on Isaac's face "You're frustrated." Isaac says. Eric blushes "Not with you, with my weak body.. You, me, counter top….." "Oh!" Isaac says picking up on Eric's arousal and feeling his own pick up. Eric puts his arms around Isaac's waist "I think we'll both feel better about things once we're finally mated I can wait, it's just difficult. My wolf wants you so bad…. Some of the things it wants to do to you are a little strange to me." "Like what?" Isaac says leaning closer. "I really _really_ want to bite you. So hard….so deep that you'll always feel me. I want to mark you so any other wolf will know you're _mine_." Eric finishes, eyes flashing yellow. At Eric's words Isaac's eyes also flash yellow, pupils fully blown open. In a blur of motion Eric grabs Isaac and practically hurls him to the bed landing on top. Their mouths crash together…

Out in the kitchen Jackson is smirking at the rest of the pack. "Told you." Scott rolls his eyes, "Yeah because Eric and Isaac having sex is any less likely to happen than the sun coming up tomorrow."

"Want my cock inside you so bad…. _Fuck_ Eric look… look how hard and wet I am for you. I'm going to fucking wreck your tight little hole. It's so hard not being able to. I want to look into your eyes as I fill you up with my come, make you mine forever. Oh….oh fuck…. fuck your mouth is so hot. I love your mouth on my cock. Don't stop please don't stop. ffuuuuccckkk I'm going to fill your sweet mouth… Fuuckkkk baby you're so thirsty… So thirsty for me…" comes Isaac's voice to the sensitive wolf ears in the other room.

The wolves all grimace. Jackson turns up the TV while Stiles smirks unable to hear but knowing what's going on. "Like you guys have never heard each other before." He says laughing. "Not Lahey" Jackson says. It's like imagining your little kid brother in a gay porno. "Yeah" Scott says "You have no idea Stiles he's got…quite the mouth…" Stiles cocks his head to the side and raises an eye brow staring at Scott who quickly turns bright red. "NOT LIKE THAT! I mean he talks dirty!" Scott sputters out. Stiles thinks on that for a moment. "That's kind of hot actually." Looking around at all the open mouths. "Oh what?! Come on guys if we weren't all mated, or in relationships this could easily be one big wolf orgy. I know wolfs look at sex differently than humans do so don't even pull the gay/straight card with me." Stiles crosses his arms and mock glares at them. "I think Jackson likes Eric." Scott says with a grin on his face. "McCall what the fuck! I do not." Jackson says indignantly. "Scott holds up his hands in surrender. "Hey I'm not saying you're in love with the guy or anything I'm just saying… If you were single, and he wasn't mated to Isaac….." "You _have_ been pretty friendly towards him" Stiles says "And Defensive of him, you guys should have seen the speech he gave Craig." Derek says deciding to poke a little fun at Jackson. He'd felt Jackson's growing feelings for the new beta. They had not been too strong, more of an appreciation and protectiveness than open lust or want, which would have caused major issues. "Utterly destroyed him. Pointed out all the ways he wasn't good enough for Eric, how he'd failed as a friend and potential boyfriend." Derek says grinning at his flustered Beta. "You too Derek? You're the Alpha no picking sides!" Derek shrugs his shoulders "We can't help who we like." He reaches over and pulls Stiles on to his lap and holds him close. "Damn right think he'd put up with my BS if he could help it? Poor sour wolf was totally smitten from first sight."

"I just want him happy and safe that's all there's something vulnerable about him." Jackson says offhandedly. "Yeah I can see that he's not exactly weak but you just can't help but want to protect him." Scott says "With your penis" leering at Jackson. Jackson rolls his eyes falling back on the couch before slamming Scott with one of the pillows.

A while later a glowing Eric and Isaac emerge from the bed room. "Craig wants to meet with me and probably tell me I'm crazy to be moving off with a sex cult, then Isaac and I are going to have lunch. We're going to meet at the park up the main road then find some place close to eat." Eric informs them. Derek looks concerned but says nothing aside from the usual. "Watch your selves and be careful." At that they say their good byes and leave. Once they drive off Stiles turns to Derek "You're really letting them go alone?" Standing up and stretching "Of course not, we'll be right behind them to make sure nothing happens."

Craig has Eric meet him at the very back of the deserted park. He parks his car next to Craig's and looks over at Isaac. "This is really fucking creepy. My wolf is _not_ happy." Isaac growls and looks around. There are a few cars scattered around the small parking lot they both focus on a cable company van. "It's empty I can't hear anyone inside it." Eric nods and leans over giving Isaac a quick kiss on the side of his mouth before climbing out of the Jeep. Isaac gets out and stands next to it looking around. As Eric walks towards where Craig is sitting he looks around and wonders again why Craig had asked to meet him here. Why not just come to the house and talk to him outside? Eric looks back and sees Isaac standing next to the jeep looking worried and tense. He forces a smile when he locks eyes with Eric.

Back at the house the rest of the pack is about to walk out the front door when Derek throws himself on top of Stiles knocking the smaller man to the ground. Scott and Jackson also duck down. "What the fuck!?" Stiles says. "Silenced gunfire." Derek says. A second later they hear a car tear off down the street. Looking out the front window they find a surprise waiting for them in the drive way in the form of the rental van with 2 flat tires. Stiles pulls his phone out to call Eric. "No bars!" he says. The rest of the pack pull out their phones to see they have no signal either. "They must have a cell jammer it's got to be small, limited range but we don't have time to look for it we have to get there _now_. "Scott move the van out of the way Stiles get to the park in the Spyder. Jack….." Before Derek could finish talking Jackson bolts down the drive way at full speed headed towards the park. Derek snaps his mouth shut and takes off after him.

As Eric closes in on Craig he notices his grim expression and that he appears to be muttering to himself. Eric focuses his on again off again were hearing and tries to hear what he's saying. "Come on walk faster. Closer… closer… OK now." Eric stops in his tracks and whips around in time to see the door of the cable van slide open thick pads of insulation falling to the ground. He sees Isaac spin around and grab his neck as a blow dart hits him. Four men spill out of the van rushing towards him. Before Eric can move Craig is on him "Eric stop it's for your own good." Eric struggles with Craig he can hear Isaac fighting behind him. "Eric!" he hears Isaac yell before there is a yelp. Eric manages to turn around and see the men using what look like cattle prods on Isaac. He contorts and falls to the ground. "Isaac!" he yells struggling violently with Craig. Eric turns and with all his strength catches Craig under the jaw with his fist. The hit stuns Craig and he staggers back. Eric bolts towards the van "Eric." Isaac says weakly reaching out as the men load him in to the van. Eric races after the van "Isaac! ISAAC!" he yells just then Derek and Jackson show up. "Derek! They have Isaac!" Jackson and Derek both bolt after the van only to have someone lean out the back door and throw something at the ground shattering it at their feet. Derek and Jackson both stop and roll out of the cloud coughing and gasping. Eric rushes to them "What's wrong what is it?" Helping Derek and Jackson up. "Wolfs bane grenade it'll…." Jackson stops when Eric turns and starts to race to the Jeep only to stop after a few steps when he sees one of the tires flat. A tightness starts to form in Eric's chest as panic sets in. "Isaac…. Oh my god Isaac…."

Derek and Jackson walk up and put their hands on Eric's shoulders "We'll find him I promise." Jackson says. Eric looks up and sees Craig standing a short distance away. With a speed that shocks Jackson and Derek Eric bolts towards Craig. Eric knocks him to the ground and begins pummeling him. "WHERE DID THEY TAKE HIM?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!" Eric's eyes flash and he begins to shift just as Scott and Stiles come racing up in the other car. Jackson and Derek pull Eric off of Craig before he can slash him with his claws. Eric roars and throws Jackson off of him the wolf flying a good 20 feet landing in a crumple at Scott's feet. Eric turns to throw Derek off but is met with the Alphas face inches from his own Derek's eyes flash bright red and he roars with such intensity Jackson falls back to his knees and Scott stumbles. Even Stiles winces at the full blown Alpha "stand the fuck down" command. Eric shifts back to human whimpering reaching towards his Alpha "Derek….. Isaac…... help me… _Please help me…_." Derek pulls Eric close trying to calm his frightened beta. "We won't find him if you kill the only person that might know where he is you need to focus and calm down." Eric nods and turns to look at Craig who was looking up at them wide eyed. "Craig you need to tell me right now where they took him he is in danger they will kill him!" Eric says desperately trying to hold back his fury. "I.. I…I don't know they didn't tell me anything they just said you'd got caught up in an identity theft ring not that you'd turned in to a what the fuck are you?" Derek shoves Eric at Jackson Scott and Stiles then snatches Craig up off the ground and shakes him like he weighs about 5 pounds. "You either tell me everything you know right now or I will _take_ the memories from you. I can promise it won't be pleasant….." Derek's eyes flash red again face still fully shifted. Craig squirms in Derek's grip. "I don't know where they took him I promise. They grabbed me when I was coming out of work in the parking lot and took me to this house where they showed me pictures of you all together and told me Isaac was seducing him. They said he was a good target because of his computer skills and since he has no family and few friends." "Where was this house what is the address?" Derek demands still holding Craig effortlessly in the air. "I don't know they kept me in the back of the van when they took me there.

Stiles shakes his head in disgust at Craig then speaks up. "I need to get to my laptop I may be able to track his cell phone before they shut it off. It may give us a chance to get close enough to catch a scent." Derek nods "Scott Jackson, get the tire changed on the Jeep. Stiles take Eric back to the house and see if you can track Isaac's phone. Do _not_ leave until we get there." Derek head-buts Craig knocking him out and throwing him over his shoulder. Stiles grabs Eric's hand and drags him towards the car after Eric tosses the key to the Jeep to Jackson.

Pulling up at the house Eric stalks grimly in to the house. Stiles grabs his laptop and starts to log in to the site he'll need to access in order to track Isaac's phone. Danny had set things up so that they could easily track each other should someone go missing. Eric goes to his bedroom and snatches open the night stand drawer pulling out the handgun he kept there for home defense. He goes in to the closet and opens a gun case and pulls out a spare clip and quickly loads a 3rd empty one. He then marches to the kitchen where Stiles was madly typing away on his laptop Eric slams the gun down on the counter before going to the coat closet in the living room. He comes back with an over shirt and a shoulder holster. Stiles stops what he's doing for a moment looking at Eric with a raised eye brow. "You uh OK there Rambo?" Eric hits Stiles with a glare that would boil water. "He's scared, they are hurting him... My _mate_ Stiles…" Eric rumbles out his voice more wolf than human eyes flashing yellow.

"Shit" Stiles says "no no no no no" tapping madly at the laptop he looks up at Eric with a look of panic on his face. "What?" Eric says dread and terror filling his chest. "There's no signal. I… I I can't track him." Eric's mouth falls open as tears start falling from his eyes. "Stiles… They are going to kill him if you can't find.." Eric stumbles staggering a few steps before collapsing to his knees gasping for breath. Stiles rushes to his side. "Eric we'll find him I promise you have to breathe you're having a panic attack." Eric's gasping for breath as the rest of the pack rushes in Derek immediately pulls Eric in to his arms and sets him on the couch. "Eric breathe… breathe with me like this you have to…" "…hurting him…" Eric gasps out "help him.. please.." Eric shudders out a heart wrenching sob before he goes limp in Derek's arms. "It's OK he's just passed out _tell me_ you found something." Derek says glaring at Stiles. Stiles lowers his eyes and shakes his head no. Jackson growls "Call Danny see if he can find something…. anything." Stiles shakes his head rapidly and pulls his phone out going back to his laptop.

A few hours later the sun had set. Danny had not been able to provide any help in locating Isaac. His phone either turned off or destroyed shortly after the van had left the park. He'd been given what names they knew of the hunters and asked to search through records. If he could find one of their phones they could track the hunters that way. However sorting through all the Reginald Scott's and seeing if they had received phone calls from Steve Banks or "Turner" was going to take time. Eric had regained consciousness but so far had not said a word. Still on the couch where Derek left him Eric is staring ahead at nothing. Frequently shuddering and wincing. The rest of the pack while not as in tune to Isaac as Eric was could tell that each shudder, each grimace was in response to the torture that Isaac was being subjected to.

"Derek" Scott says drawing his Alpha's attention. Scott gestures to Eric who was now crying silently. Tears streaming from his eyes and falling from his chin. They all know Isaac is still alive but in constant pain. Scott and Jackson both go to the couch and sit on either side of the silent man and try to comfort him. "What happens… uh if…" Stiles says softly to Derek. "I don't know." With the mate bond incomplete there is no way of knowing how Isaac's death would affect the partially turned Eric. Derek pulls Stile's notebook over and writes something before pushing it back to Stiles.

Isaac is getting weaker. If Danny doesn't find something soon it may be too late. If he dies Eric may go feral you have to stay back. OK?

Derek fixes Stiles with a glare until Stiles shakes his head in the affirmative.

Eric closes his eyes and tries with every bit of effort he can muster. _Isaac help me find you. Something anything._

Isaac is curled in on himself trying to make a smaller target. He is shackled to a ring in the floor the countless wounds on his body no longer healing. He'd been kicked beaten and stabbed nearly continuously since being shoved in to the van. The torment had stopped for a few minutes. As the hours wore on it became apparent to Isaac that he wasn't going to be rescued. The only way they had to track him was his phone and that had been shattered in front of him soon after they took him. Isaac knew that the pack would not give up trying to find him but with nothing to go on he didn't know how they could find him. Apparently beating him nonstop for hours had tired the hunters out. Isaac sighs inwardly when the torment stops. Suddenly Isaac feels a touch a faint whisper of a presence in his consciousness. It's gentle, loving, but frantic and desperate. "Eric…" he whispers through split lips. Isaac closes his eyes as tears silently stream from them. _Baby I'm so sorry….. I never meant to leave you. Please forgive me._ Isaac reaches out and tries to convey his love for Eric.

Eric suddenly stands. Slowly turning to his left he stops and blinks. "Isaac" he says in a relieved sob. He then vaults over the back of the couch grabbing his gun and the key to the Spyder before sprinting for the front door. "Eric wait!" Derek shouts reaching out to trying to catch him he grabs a bit of Eric's shirt. Eric brings his arms back behind him and slips out of the shirt he'd put on to cover the holster but failed to button.

Eric slides in to the seat of his car and brings the engine to life. Eric drops the car in to gear and dumps the clutch peeling out in the driveway. Blocked in by the Jeep he slides sideways through the front yard nearly knocking Derek down wheels struggling for traction as Eric urges the car to move faster. The rest of the pack gets in the Jeep and races after them. "Damn it" Derek says struggling and failing to keep up with the small sports car.

Eric tries to focus trying to send reassurance over the bond to his scared mate. He can feel Isaac's fear and pain. Eric slams through the gears whipping around the slower moving cars. Yanking the parking brake momentarily to break the rear end lose Eric slides around the corner in an intersection barely slowing down. The engine screams as he races through city streets towards the outskirts of town and the faint pull of his mate. Later finally Eric sees the cable van and accelerates.

Apparently rested the hunters have resumed their torture of Isaac. Isaac can feel Eric's panic and fury then suddenly he realizes Eric is getting closer. A small grin makes its way across his face. "What the fuck are you so happy about mutt?" One of his captors says. Straining to lift his head Isaac locks eyes with one of his tormentors defiantly. "My mate….. is coming…. for me." If he had the energy he'd laugh at the look of fear that is mirrored on all the men's faces. "Mate? He's that fags mate? Fuck if he's turned he's going to be impossible to stop!" A young man in the corner of the room whimpers out. Isaac chuckles humorlessly "He's going to…. kill you for….. what you've done." This earns Isaac a boot to the face just as the front door to the house is kicked in. Eric can feel Isaac's presence in the back of the house. Enraged by the stink of pain, misery and fear coming from his mate Eric shifts and roars defiantly before charging in to the house. With a speed and precision impossible for a human Eric moves quickly through the house shooting everyone who comes at him. If they have a weapon he shoots both shoulders disabling them. If they come at him he aims for the knees. Just as he is about to kick in the door he gets a flash of sight from _inside_ the room. He sees someone standing beside a door with a gun held high ready to put a bullet in the brain of anyone coming through. He looks around the room and sees 4 other men in there. He knows that it's Isaac somehow showing him this. He immediately fires 2 shots through the wall striking two of the men in the head before quickly slapping in his last clip and kicking the door open rolling in to the room low on the floor. He fire's again catching the one holding a gun on Isaac in the eye. In one fluid blue of motion Eric is back on his feet bringing his gun to bear on the final hunter.

The stench of fear from this hunter gives Eric pause. He knows the young man barely old enough to drive has no intention of hurting anyone. "Drop it or share their fate" He growls out yellow eyes burning bright. The kid drops the gun on the floor. "Release him NOW!" Eric roars. The kid fumbles over to a desk and grabs a key before practically falling on top of Isaac to unlock the shackles. As the last one drops away Eric back hands the kid knocking him across the room where he falls to the floor unconscious. "Eric." Isaac says struggling to stand.  He slips in his own blood and collapses back to the floor. Eric's breath catches in his throat as he sees all the wounds and bruises on his mate. "Isaac" Eric sobs out gently helping Isaac stand with trembling hands and pulling him in to an embrace. "Mine" Eric whimpers softly. "Yours baby.......  Always and forever." Isaac says.

The rest of the pack roars in to the house to find all of the hunters disabled. Rushing to the back of the house they find Eric and a rapidly healing Isaac being held gently by his mate. The only sound in the room is the quiet sobbing coming from Eric as he softly strokes Isaac's back. Derek growls at the now conscious young hunter who holds up his hands. "Please I didn't hurt anyone I didn't know they were going to do this my dad doesn't know. They just wanted answers for what happened to Steve and Turner but things got out of hand please don't eat me." "Eat you?" Scott says. "You'll notice he left nearly everyone alive. I assume these are dead because there was no other choice. Even after you guys took and tortured his mate he still had enough humanity left to only kill when left with no alternative. Remember that the next time someone says all wolves are wild animals." "Let's go, we need to get out of here in case the neighbors heard anything. The houses are far apart but I'd rather not be here if the cops show up." Stiles says. Derek and Stiles gently tug Eric towards the door. Eric leading a weak but relieved Isaac out of the house without a word.

Once back at the house Eric glares at a now conscious Craig. "Keep that fucker here and quiet. If I hear one word…..one word out of your arrogant mouth it will be your last. The only thing….the only reason you're breathing right now is that you have no _clue_ what you did." Eric pokes Craig in the chest hard enough to make the frightened human stumble back a few steps yellow eyes blazing furiously. He grabs Isaac's hand and practically drags him back to the bedroom. He closes the door and gently pushes Isaac back on to the bed. Isaac watches silently as Eric walks to the dresser and pulls his shoulder holster off and leans forward bracing himself on the dresser. He frowns as he sees Eric's shoulders start to shake before he turns around. As Eric's mask of fury falls away he slowly goes to pieces tears streaming from his eyes as his lower lip trembles. Isaac quickly pulls Eric down on to the bed with him. "Oh god Isaac" Eric whimpers brokenly as Isaac rubs his face on his mates neck. "I was so scared.. I thought… I thought I wasn't going to make it in time… I….I could feel what they were doing… I…" Eric's words become incomprehensible as he completely loses it. Isaac strokes Eric's back whispering soothing things. "It's OK baby you saved me I'm OK. It's going to be OK. Shhhhh shhhhh. I'm here we're together we're safe…I love you."

In the living room everyone humans included are able to hear Eric's shuddering sobs. Jackson growls stepping forward towards where Craig had been shoved in to a chair. Scott grabs Jackson's shoulder "You can't kill him." "Why not?!" Jackson snarls "Who would miss…this?" Jackson asks waving his hand in Craig's direction dismissively. "You piece of shit, you say you love him. Listen to what you've done to him." Jackson bellows eyes flashing blue as he struggles to reign in his rage. "They said you'd brain washed him .. They didn't say anything about… "Craig just waves his hand "whatever the fuck is going on…." Stiles steps between Jackson and Craig. "So…. Werewolves are a thing. I'm human, everyone else is a wolf. Eric was bitten to save his life after he was attacked and nearly killed. Isaac is Eric's mate. Mates are… Rare, special…treasured. What humans call marriage is about the equivalent of a one night stand on the scale of importance to wolves compared to what a mate is. Mates are everything, they are the reason you get up in the morning the reason you breathe. You will fight any enemy to the death to ensure their safety. They are greatest gift the world can give a wolf. The connection between mates goes beyond anything you will ever experience with a human. The loss of a mate is so traumatic most wolves die of sadness. They simply lose the will to live. Some might consider those the lucky ones. It's not unusual for a wolf to lose his or her mind when a mate is lost. Many innocent people die when that happens, sometimes the only way to get the wolf to stop is to put them down. I'm telling you this not because I care but so you will understand how badly you have hurt the one you claim to love. You got Eric's mate taken and tortured today. Had Eric not got there when he did Isaac would likely be dead now. Upsetting someone's mate is bad enough, what you did, would have resulted in your immediate death were we the type of pack these hunters seem to think we are." Derek growls and partially shifts for emphasis. It has the desired affect causing Craig to flinch back in his seat eyes wide with fear.

"You have no idea what he's been through or what has been done to him by these people. You're just a selfish piece of garbage who doesn't give a fuck about anybody else!" Jackson yells. Scott and Derek place comforting hands on Jackson and try to send reassurances over the pack bond. "He doesn't have a mark on him what did they do? Use harsh language? Craig says hotly. "Try near death from wolfs bane poisoning, torture, rape and then death you fucking ass hat." Stiles says angrily. "That's right. _Death_ one of them killed Eric. If Isaac hasn't been there at exactly the right moment Eric wouldn't have been able to come back to us." Craig's eyes go wide. "Rape? Death? What the fuck." Scott wipes a tear from his cheek. Looking back towards the bedroom where Eric's muffled sobs could still be heard. "Wow he is _really_ upset." "It's affecting all of us." Stiles says also wiping his eyes. "You can all feel that?" Craig asks incredulously. "We're all connected by a bond we can feel each others emotions. Eric is brand new not fully turned yet his emotions are amplified already by the transition and other things that have happened to him over the past few days. Nearly losing his mate…" Stiles shakes his head. "It'll be a while before he calms down." Derek bites out face a perfect image of fury as he glares at Craig. "You need to shut your mouth now and not make a sound if you want to walk out of here." Craig frowns but stays quiet.

"I want to go I don't want to be here anymore. I can't lose you Isaac. People will die" Eric says quietly. Both men are wrapped tightly around each other on the bed. "We're going to leave first thing in the morning." Isaac says gently, desperately trying to calm his mate's thundering heart. Isaac tries squeezing Eric's neck. He finds the muscles hard as stone and filled with tension. Isaac gently kneads the achingly tight tissue and kisses Eric "Please don't be so upset." He can feel the terror rolling off Eric in scent and through the pack bond. Eric shudders and clutches Isaac tighter. "I don't know what to do about Craig he knows now." "Derek can take his memories. He can erase the hunters and what he saw. He won't know anything." Isaac says before kisses Eric on the forehead. "I love you we'll get through this please try and calm down. I'm worried you might…." "I won't shift" Eric says "I can feel my wolf, he's angry but you're with me and you're OK. That's the only thing that saved the hunters and Craig. If you'd been unconscious. If I'd thought you were dying…. I would have lost control and killed them all. What scares me most is I may not have stopped at them….." Isaac catches the scent of salt as Eric starts to cry again. "No baby no." He says turning so he can look in to Eric's eyes. "That would never happen you're too strong too good, you'd never go feral and hurt innocents. The strength from the pack would ground you. Can I have Derek deal with Craig and get him out of the house? Did you want to say anything to him?"

Eric is silent for a moment. Isaac frowns when he hears Eric's heart speed up even faster. "I'm done with him… I'm serious Isaac I may not be able to stop myself if I see him. Derek can take his memories.. I..I'll send him a text message later saying bye. I just… I just… …" Eric shudders. Isaac runs his hands through Eric's hair soothingly "What do you want baby anything I'll do anything." Isaac's says kissing Eric gently. "I'm scared Isaac I'm so scared it's too much it's all too much… How do you guys deal with this over and over again?" Isaac can tell there is something else looking deeply in to his Eric's eyes he can see how shattered, and broken recent events have left his gentle mate. He could tell Eric was holding something back. Isaac desperately searches Eric's face for the answer. "Can you just hold me.. Jus… Just for a little while?…. And.. and tell me you love me?" Eric whimpers out brokenly tears literally raining from his eyes. It's devastating to hear the quiet broken request from his mate and smell the bitter smell of embarrassment and shame. "I'm sorry I'm not stronger. I should be comforting you. I got to sit on the couch while you were tortured. You d..d…deserve so much better than someone like me." Isaac draws Eric in closer gently squeezing his neck and rubbing his back. "How can you say that? I heard you fighting with Craig at the park. I know you tried to help me. I heard you calling my name. I felt you when you reached out for me. We're not even fully mated yet but you were still strong enough to reach out and find me. I felt when you were getting closer. Then I heard your roar and the gun shots. When you kicked the door in all I could think was how brave you were coming after me not knowing how many people were in the house. You came for me with no regard for your own safety. I'm so lucky to have you. I love you so much. You saved me….."He whispers in his ear every reassurance he can imagine. Holding Eric tightly in his arms. "I love you baby boy, I can _never_ say it enough times. Please believe me I'm never going away. I'm your mate. I am yours and you are mine. I love you. You're everything to me, all I want, all I need. I love you." Slowly Eric's heart rate returns to normal and the bombardment of fear over the pack bond and everyone's senses slowly halts. "I love you." Isaac says softly kissing Eric's tear stained face. "I love you, we're going to be OK." With a softly whimpered "I love you puppy" Eric shudders before he finally succumbs to exhaustion. Isaac following soon after.

I'm the living room the pack relaxes once Eric calms and falls asleep. "So…" Jackson says cracking his knuckles. You want him awake or asleep?" Derek grins viciously at Craig. "Too messy when they are awake. Faint images of the time after the wipe can come back. Plus his screams will wake Eric. Put him to sleep." Jackson grins eyes flashing electric blue as he steps towards Craig who pushes back further in the chair.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eric finally puts his big boy pants on.....

Something is wrong, everyone is tense. Eric's eyes snap open. Leaping out of bed he grabs his 9mm from the dresser and rushes down the hallway. He finds the pack minus Derek and Scott in the front room. Scott is standing by the back door peering out from the edge, Derek is in the front yard talking to someone. There is a black van parked in the street with the sliding door open. Isaac sees him and pulls him close. "Hunters." he growls out. "We can't leave Derek out there exposed like that." Eric says "He told us all to stay here" Scott says. "Eric's right he's too vulnerable out there." Stiles says "The hunters in the van are getting anxious starting to fidget." Jackson says "We're not leaving our Alpha in this position. Scott, Jackson go out the back and sweep around from the sides. Make sure they don't have back up and keep out of sight. Set your phones on vibrate text us if you find anything. Scott and Jackson both stare at him for a moment. "Please?" Eric says. Jackson and Scott both grin before they bolt out the back door.

"Isaac….." "I am _not_ leaving you with hunters literally on our door step Eric _NO_!" "Our pack is in danger, if anything happens they are going to expect us to come boiling out the front door like a pack of wild animals. I want you on the side of the house in the shadows. You'll be close enough to me or Derek if anything happens." Isaac stands still stubbornly. "Isaac!" Eric practically barks eyes flashing yellow. Isaac flinches back then turns to move out the back door. Eric catches the flash of hurt in Isaac's eyes. "Puppy please….. come here" Eric pulls Isaac close. "We have to protect our Alpha, together we're more than a match for those hunters but as it is Derek is vulnerable and we're sitting ducks in here should they lob a few of those wolfs bane grenades in through a window." Isaac shakes his head and starts to walk off. Eric grabs him quickly "Please don't be like that.. I… I.. I can't stand the thought of you being angry with me…" Eric stammers looking down and sighing. "Please Isaac… When this is over you and I are going to curl up on that couch right there watch some movies and have pizza. Please don't be angry with me…. **_I love you_**." Eric feels Isaac's mood lift over the pack bond and gives him a quick but deep kiss before pushing him gently towards the back door. "I love you too….. I want stuffed crust." He says before ducking out in to the darkness. Eric closes and locks the door.

"If anyone is going to come through there they are going to make some noise. He goes to the alarm panel on the wall and hit's several buttons. I've bypassed the front door but the rest of the house is armed the back door and windows are all instant alarm zones. If any are broken or opened the siren will sound." He then pulls out his phone and calls Stiles. "Answer and put it on mute. When I say 'now' I want you to flip these switches to turn on the lights then set off the alarm for the van. Text the others and tell them to call 911 and report a suspicious van with men pointing rifles out the windows going up and down the street when they hear the vans alarm.. They can track the calls by GPS so I don't want you to call. I'd rather not have the police show up here. I just want to use them to scare the hunters off. I'd have told Jackson and Scott before left but I'm making this up as I go." Stiles smiles at Eric "Dude you're a natural at this…. Wait what are you going to do?" He asks putting his hand on Eric's arm when he goes to walk to the front door. "I'm going to diffuse this before it blows up in our faces. Reggie is accusing Isaac of murdering Steve and Turner out of revenge and demanding to talk to me about the hunters I killed, Derek is trying to protect my honor by leaving out the full extent what Steve did. It's devolving in to a pissing match between an Alpha wolf and an Alpha human." "Isaac is going to kick your ass." Stiles says biting his lower lip. "At least he'd be doing _something_ to it." Eric says smirking at Stile's shocked burst of laughter. He tucks his gun in his waistband at the small of his back and walks out the front door.

As he's about to step off the front porch he hears a familiar growl to his side he doesn't look not wanting to give away Isaac's position. "Easy puppy, you've heard the same thing I have this is the only way to keep us all safe. This will be over soon. Please don't be mad at me. I love you." Eric whispers. Isaac responds with a high pitched whine but doesn't move from cover. One of the hunters gets out of the van as Eric approaches. "Either he gets back in the van or we turn all the lights on and make some noise. The last thing you want is a bunch of nosy neighbors asking questions." Eric says standing next to Derek. Eric can feel the anger radiating off Derek and flinches slightly when he realizes some is directed at him. "Ah Mr. Anderson looking remarkably undamaged and…. _fit_ for a 37 year old IT professional." Reggie waves his hand back at the armed man who gets back in the van. "Sorry I woke to find my Alpha being harassed I didn't have time to grab a shirt." " _Your_ Alpha?" Reggie says. "Things are starting to not look very good for you Mr. Anderson." "From where I'm standing things are starting to not look very good for _you_." Eric says tersely. "You're starting to look more like a bully than someone who actually wants to keep the peace. You let your pet Omega run wild attacking innocent people. You make some veiled threats about it being best that we don't cross paths again. Which fine…... whatever we let it go and left. Then Steve attacks me, Turner shoots my mate. You break into my home and snoop around leaving your scent all over everything knowing it will upset us. Finally we have the cluster fuck at the park where your men take the most precious thing in the world from me by force." Eric stops closing his eyes for a moment gritting his teeth. "Now here you are again posturing and acting like you actually have some kind of authority over us." As Eric had been speaking Reggie's expression had slowly morphed from one of disdain to near rage. "Five of my people are dead. Two ripped to pieces and then left in an empty building the others shot in the head. I also have seven men recovering from gun shots. The ones you shot in the knee will likely have to use a cane for the rest of their lives. I think that's all the authority I need to find out what happened. I came here for some answers and was told that you were attacked by Steve. Yet here you stand with nary an injury so either I've been lied to or you're a wolf!"

Eric holds his hands up in surrender. "Let me start over. I came out here against my Alpha's wishes to ease the tension not add to it." "Let's go inside and discuss this." Reggie says. "I think not, we can discuss this right here." Eric says tensing. Derek places a comforting hand on Eric's shoulder. "You're not really in a position to be…..." Eric shakes his head and cuts Reggie off. "See I was out here to keep things calm and your posturing is going to ruin things. Let's talk for a quick moment about _who_ is in _what_ position. You came here with no back up and are sitting out in the open. I'm not sure what kind of wolves you're used to dealing with but apparently they were untrained and not much more than wild animals. My pack trains nonstop to protect itself against attacks from far greater threats than hunters with wolfs bane, tranquilizers and cattle prods. Of the things that go bump in the night my pack has had to fend off, hunters rank pretty low on the threat scale. I've got wolfs ready to come at you from every direction. My pack will turn that van into a bucket full of body parts in seconds if anyone makes a wrong move. What's worse is you've placed yourself within arm's reach of an Alpha werewolf capable of throwing your out of shape ass clear over the roof of my house. Ordinarily I'd wonder if you were brave or stupid but given the situation…" Derek fights back a smirk when he detects the bitter scent of fear and increase in pulse from Reggie. "We are not here to fight with you, or cause any trouble but I'm fucking tired of being bullied. You can either listen to what I have to say, or you can leave. Those are your only two options. Which will it be?" "Please by all means tell me." Reggie says smugly. His words however don't entirely conceal the look of fear and realization he's severely under estimated this pack.

Derek rubs his thumb gently on Eric's shoulder to calm him. "I am as a matter of fact no longer human. I was bitten to save my life. I was attacked by a feral wolf. I had been ripped to pieces and would have been dead within minutes. Rather than just bite me I was offered the choice. I asked "Will I hurt people." And the reply was an emphatic "No." I believed them and accepted. I had an almost immediate bond with one of the pack. He came with me to help me pack and also to ensure I didn't hurt anyone. Steve apparently saw us out and felt that we were some kind of threat so he attacked me at work and poisoned me. You were brought in and I was cured. Thank you for that by the way. We left Steve's house that day and didn't look back. My Alpha let the assault on a member of his pack go. The bond I had with my pack mate grew and we eventually realized we were mates. We were out having dinner to celebrate when Steve abducted me. He waited outside the restaurant with Turner. When my mate came looking for me Turner shot him in the heart with wolfs bane while Steve forced me to watch. Thankfully my cell phone was in his shirt pocket and stopped the bullet. The rest of the pack had detected our distress and made it to the restaurant within minutes. Fortunately they were able to pick up my scent and follow us to where Steve and Turner had taken me." Eric stops and exhales closing his eyes for a moment. Almost below his ability to hear Eric detects a soft heartbroken whine from where Isaac is hiding. Knowing that Isaac was reliving what had happened causes Eric's heart to clench. "Please continue" Reggie says irritably. "What my Alpha didn't tell you was that in addition to beating and clawing me Steve raped me he raped and scented me thinking the pack would reject me and then kill me. He said he was doing it because of what you'd done to him after we'd left his house." "Bull shit" Reggie says "Steve would never." "It's true." Derek says. "Eric's mate knew what was happening before we even got to the building. He could feel it over the pack bond. We all could. His mate had been assaulted and violated. If you know anything about wolves then you know how important…..how precious a mate is to us." Reggie seems to deflate a little at this. "There was no stopping him at this point when he saw turner I understand he was dead within seconds. Steve said I should thank him for what he did next because it was going to save me from the pack killing me. He drove his claws in to my chest to try and buy himself some time. My mate found me unconscious and bleeding out. The rest of the pack went after Steve and took care of him."

"If that's true then how are you still….. The mate bond…."Reggie says eyes going wide. "Luckily his love for me was so great that instead of going after Steve in vengeance he stayed by my side and held me the last few moments I was alive. He didn't know about the mate bonds power but it brought me back. He shared his strength with me just long enough for my body to stabilize and start healing. Even after that we _still_ let it go and kept to ourselves. Then your men contacted my roommate and gave him this silly story about how I'd been seduced or brainwashed and had become involved with an identity theft ring. They very foolishly attacked…and took….. my mate." Eric's wolf which had been pacing back and forth angrily snarling at Eric to kill these threats to his pack comes roaring to the surface at the memory of seeing Isaac falling to the ground in that parking lot. Eric's eyes flash yellow and Reggie takes a step back. "Eric." Derek says tightening his grip on his shoulder. Eric's visibly trembling in fury. Isaac ready to attack and defend his mate says just loud enough for Eric to hear. "You're doing great baby calm down please don't shift I love you, think about me think about getting home to Beacon Hills. I love you so much please calm down." Two men jump out of the van but stop when Reggie holds up his hand. Eric takes a deep breath and his eyes go back to normal. "Forgive me the site of a loved one being attacked is a difficult memory to have. They get back in the van or this talk is over." Reggie says nothing for a moment then signals the men to get back in the van. "I could have easily killed more of your men but I didn't. The only ones I killed were the ones in the room with my mate. Your son didn't have intent didn't smell like hate so I spared him. The pack could have easily killed your men but they didn't either. The only group causing trouble is yours. It almost seems to me like you prod and poke wolves until they attack and then you can stand behind your code and feel justified in murdering them. We'll be gone by this time tomorrow. I'm tired, I want you and your men to leave." Reggie shakes his head "We're not through here not by a long shot I still have questions." "OH we are most definitely through… _now."_

At that the lights on the front of the house flare in to operation flooding the area with light, the alarm on the rental van sounds as well. "Several calls have just been placed to the police department about armed men in a van. You probably should leave now. It would be best if we don't cross paths again." Eric sags against Derek slightly as pain starts flaring through his system. He turns abruptly and moves towards the house with Derek subtly providing support. As they step on to the porch they hear the van start up and drive away. Isaac is at Eric's side in an instant and pulls him inside. "Eric." Isaac says pulling him in to a chair and wrapping his arms around him while he and Derek pull the pain out. Scott and Jackson arrive seconds later and also start trying to help their suffering pack mate. Eric is writhing in pain whimpering through clenched teeth. Slowly over the next few minutes Eric's breathing and heart rate slow as the pain finally fades away. The tension going out of his body he falls against Isaac weakly. Derek crouches down and glares at Eric. Swallowing and lowering his eyes Eric tilts his head to the side exposing his neck to Derek. "I'm sorry Alpha I didn't want you to get hurt." To everyone's surprise Derek pulls Eric in to a hug, a quick nip at his neck the only punishment. "It's just Derek, don't ever put yourself at risk like that for me again. My job is to put myself between the pack and danger. You did a great job though, in an instant you analyzed the situation and came up with a good plan. I'm proud of you."

When Derek releases Eric Isaac pulls Eric in to a bone crushing hug. He also nips Eric on the neck eliciting a shocked "oww hey!" from the smaller man. Isaac picks his squirming mate up and carries him to the couch sitting down and pulling Eric on top of him. "blanket" Isaac says to Scott who smiles and tosses the blanket that was laying on the loveseat to his pack mate. Isaac covers them both up and hands Eric the TV remote. "Cuddle and movie time I believe I was also promised pizza." Isaac says leaning forward and kissing Eric gently behind the ear. "See puppy I told you everything would work out OK." Eric says relaxing in to Isaac's warm embrace. "Our bodies fit together so perfectly." Eric adds. "Fate" Isaac says "Destiny" Stiles adds, "sickening", Jackson says rolling his eyes. "Oh be nice come sit with us." Eric lifts up the blanket and ushers Jackson over. "Come on Whitmore you know you want up on the Lahey Anderson cuddle express." Isaac says snickering. Jackson sighs defeated and settles on the couch next to Eric yelping slightly when he's grabbed and pulled up alongside Eric.

"Guys?" Eric asks. "What did you do with Craig?"

A couple blocks away in the park where Isaac and Eric were ambushed Craig shakes his head and slowly opens his eyes. "Fuck what's that smell." He blearily looks around his car looking down he sees a half empty bottle of Jim Bean laying open in his lap. It's spilled all over soaking his jeans and the seat. His head is pounding with what he _thinks_ is a hangover. _What the fuck am I doing here_ … He tries to remember what happened. Fighting the cotton in his brain Craig vaguely remembers his encounter with Jackson and Derek loading his stuff in the car. Getting in his car and leaving. He remembers going to a friend's house but nothing else. _Must have drunk a lot at Chases place then passed the fuck out trying to go to Eric's._ Feeling a throb of pain at the back of his neck he reaches back and feels what he thinks is some kind of bite. "God damn spiders. That's all I need to die from a brown recluse spider bite." _Eric did always say I needed to clean my car out..Eric…..._ Craig starts the car and pulls away from the curb. In a moment he's pulling up in front of Eric's house. He slows but doesn't stop. He sees the lights inside on and frowns at the sight of the van in the driveway. "Not welcome here anymore Craig…" He mutters to himself before speeding up and driving off.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty long chapter.

Eric wakes up to find himself sandwiched between two warm bodies. He squirms slightly opening his eyes. Jackson is face down half on top of him with both of his arms around Eric and Isaac. Jackson's breath puffing out evenly across Eric's chest. Eric is still laying enveloped in Isaac's legs and arms. He can feel his mates soft breaths behind his ear. Eric smiles and cards his fingers through Jackson's hair with one hand and gently squeezes Isaac's muscular thigh with the other. Isaac stirs slightly behind him then kisses Eric on the neck. "Morning baby boy." He says softly. "Morning puppy." Eric replies turning slightly so he can meet Isaac's lips. Eric gently slips out from under Jackson. "Need to use the restroom" he whispers when Isaac initially tightens his grip. Jackson whines softly and curls tightly around Isaac who rolls his eyes and looks up at Eric. "See what you've done? You've turned our pack douche in to a cuddle slut." He says softly with a smile on his face. Eric leans down and slots his and Isaac's mouths together slipping his tongue deep inside Isaac's mouth. He pushes a brief but intense flash of love and warmth over the bond at Isaac. Isaac's eyes flash yellow for a moment then then lose focus as he loses himself in the moment. Eric pulls away. "I love you seems like a weak set of words for how I feel about you but I still can't stop saying them." Eric kisses his again "I love you." He licks a swipe across Isaac's kiss wet lips then mouths gently under his chin and neck for a moment before standing up. Isaac smiles and grabs Eric's erection that's tenting out prominently in his boxer briefs. "Not in front of the kids." Eric half laugh half whispers before leaving to use the hall bathroom.

Moments later Eric is relieving himself but is distracted by a smell. _What is that smell?_ Finishing up he sniffs and steps over to the mirror and vanity. Leaning closer he inhales tentatively then grips the counter and takes a deep long sniff. His eye lids open to reveal bright yellow eyes. Somehow in the back of his mind instinct tells him the scent is several days old but there is no mistaking the scent of not just his mate's arousal but also of his release. Eric leans against the wall and crosses his arms and tries to look stern. "Isaac could you come here please?" he asks softly knowing his mate could hear him. A few moments later Isaac comes in to the bathroom and freezes when he notices Eric's unhappy glare. "What's wrong?" he asks Eric cracks a grin. "I can't do it I can't even fake being mad you make me so happy." Isaac smiles but looks confused. "Um is there something you want to say? About what maybe happened in here, specifically to the mirror and sink? And…." Taking a wiff and looking back at the shower "In the shower?" Eric raises both eye brows at his embarrassed mate and waits for his answer. "Oh um. The day after we came back? When you were so horny? It.. Uh.. it… af..affected me so yeah I tried to clean it up as best as I could." Isaac stammers out face neck and upper chest turning red. "So did this happen while I was…" Isaac smiles shyly and shakes his head yes. "Fuuucckkkk" Eric says and leans against the wall. "Do you have any idea how hot that is?" He asks looking at his mate. Isaac steps forward and looks down in to Eric's eyes. "You made me so hot baby. It was all I could do to keep from going in your shower and fucking you up against the wall. I wanted to get on my knees and drain you. I wanted your come in my mouth, on my chest. I wanted to fucking _bathe_ in you." Isaac whispers hotly in Eric's ear as Eric closes his eyes and tries to control his breathing. "I could hear your heart, your hand stroking your cock that was so hard because of _ME_. The whole house was saturated with how horny you were. You came so many times…. It's awesome you're getting more senses and super fucking hot that smelling this." Isaac gestures around the room "Has such an effect on you." With a low growl Eric pulls Isaac against him and kisses him nastily.

Moments later they are both in the shower. Eric's shoved in to the corner as Isaac works his mates cock in to his mouth. Isaac works back and forth on Eric's throbbing member while Eric struggles to not snap his hips forward gagging his lover. He pauses and tenses up for a fraction of a second when he feels Isaac's finger at his entrance. Looking down he sees Isaac looking back up. "Nothing more than this." Isaac says pressing gently against the opening. "Tell me to stop and I will?" Eric takes a deep breath before nodding then shivers as Isaac resumes his assault on his cock and slowly starts to press his finger inside. After a few moments of gently fucking his finger in to Eric's tight hole he finds what he is looking for. Eric thrust's forward gently in to Isaac's mouth at the same instant Isaac brushes his finger against Eric's prostate. Eric's entire body seizes as he instantly and violently releases flooding Isaac's mouth. He's vaguely aware of Isaac moaning deeply around his cock and feels the hot ropes of Isaac's come on his legs and balls. " _Fuck!_ " Eric says loudly. Isaac leans forward and laps his come off of Eric's legs and balls shoving his finger back in side as he cleans his mate. Feeling Isaac cleaning him with his mouth has Eric throbbing and hard again. Another stab at the sensitive nerve cluster has his vision whiting out as he climaxes again knees buckling he slides down the wall as Isaac guides him into a sitting position. He opens his eyes and sees he's covered Isaac's neck, face, hair and some of his chest. Eric leans forward and begins to clean him off. Isaac shudders and growls deeply and moments later is rubbing his scent in to Eric's chest. They both pull back smiling at each other.

"How is it possible that it gets better each time?" Eric says softly. "Probably because you're becoming more and more wolf, which means our bond will be greater." Isaac says lazily still lovingly rubbing his scent in to Eric's skin. "So it was OK. I didn't go too far?" Isaac asks rubbing his hand gently on Eric's leg. "No it was fine it scared me a little at first but yeah it was OK. I….. I'm not ready for the real thing yet….. you understand right? I want….. I need for that to be about us… Not about Steve..." Eric says frowning and looking into Isaac's eyes. "Absolutely 100% understand. When you're ready you tell me. If we need to wait until the next moon so be it. Or the one after that. I uh just one thing. I'm not pushing… Until we've mated the mate bond won't get much stronger. The pack bond might but if something happens…" "We might not be able to find each other next time. That shouldn't have worked yesterday….." Eric says frowning. "We'll be safer back home I promise." Isaac says. Eric sighs frowning slightly and shakes his head OK. Just then the water goes from warm to not so warm. "Come on sugar dick let's get out of here." Isaac covers his mouth trying not to laugh loudly and wake everyone up. His shoulders heaving as his face goes red. "S _ugar dick_?" he manages to gasp out. Eric smiles and pulls him to his feet stopping to kiss him soundly before stepping out of the now cold shower. Isaac as usual insists on toweling Eric off first then lets Eric dry him. They slip back in to their clothes.

"Will you let me make you breakfast?" Isaac asks smoothing Eric's hair down. "How can I resist those eyes?" Eric says with a smile. Walking back out to the living room they see Jackson still asleep on the couch. "Keep your cuddle buddy company while I make food." Isaac says kissing Eric in his favorite spot behind the left eat. Eric grins and slowly slips back under the blanket and is immediately wrapped up in warm sleepy werewolf arms.

As Isaac moves around the kitchen making breakfast Eric feels Jackson begin to stir. Jackson's eyes open and he looks in to Eric's. "Oh.. " he says pulling back "Sorry" with a smile and slight blush. "Not needed you're warm and comfortable that's all that matters." Eric says brushing his hand through Jackson's hair. Jackson smiles and nods before standing and stretching. Jackson slips his fingers through Eric's hair once before walking down the hallway towards the bathroom he stops and groans. "Jesus you two are like teenagers." Eric can hear him turn the exhaust fan on before closing the door before going in to the master bedroom to use the other bathroom.

Eric smirks and walks over to where Isaac is cooking and puts his arms around him kissing him on the neck. Isaac turns around kissing Eric deeply. Eric guides Isaac away from the stove and leans him up against the refrigerator kissing and licking his throat and face. Whimpering Isaac says "Eric my eggs." Eric reaches slowly between Isaac's legs and gently squeezes "Feel fine to me grade AA large." Isaac snickers and Eric laughs out loud. Looking down fondly Isaac says "I love it when you laugh like that so beautiful." Eric smiles and takes Isaac's hand kissing it then leads him back to the stove. He stands behind Isaac with his arms around him and head on his shoulder for a moment. "I'll get some plates." He says kissing Isaac between his shoulder blades before reaching for the package of paper plates they had picked up after packing the rest of the kitchen.

The rest of the pack wanders in to the kitchen quick on the draw Stiles snaps a picture of Isaac feeding Eric a piece of toast. The look of love and contentment in their eyes an absolute Kodak moment. "God cute over load." Stiles says as the flash goes off startling the two love struck wolves. "At least they still have their boxers on." Jackson laughs sitting down at the bar. Scott slides up next to him while Derek and Stiles go to the small table. Eric passes food out to everyone shooing Isaac over to the table so he can finish setting everything out. "You did the work I just distracted you with various body parts, sit sit."

A few minutes later they were all eating. Isaac has his leg pressed against Eric's under the table and they are stealing occasional glances at each other smiling when they do. "Did you already tell PODS where to ship your container to?" Stiles asks. "No I was not sure how long it would take to pack or when I'd actually be moving so I just had it delivered here. I didn't know an address at the time so I was going to call and tell them where to send it once it was packed." Eric answers leaning back in his chair and stretching slightly. "What are you thinking?" Derek asks. "Well I think it would be a good idea for us to try and cover our tracks as well as possible. We've not told the hunters any of our names. If anything they may have Eric or Isaac's first name…. Does Pathnet know where you are going?" Stiles asks hopefully. "No, we're not exactly parting on the best of terms. My manager left a few months ago and the new management team has been pretty shitty to deal with. All they know is that I'm leaving. There is a rumor that I'm going to a competitor in Ohio that I heard the day Steve attacked me." Isaac reaches out and rubs Eric's shoulder causing Eric to look at him and smile. "I think we should do whatever we can to limit the ways these hunters can track us. Have the pod delivered someplace else in the country." Eric nodding adds, "we can rent a couple of trucks from different places far enough away from the pod that they two can't be connected. Drive back unload then return the trucks the same way, far away and separate from each other." "That sounds like a good idea to me." Scott says. Jackson nods. "The only real way they can track us is if they can access Eric's records we can have Danny leave some false trails." "Lets do it." Derek says "We need to decide where to have the pod delivered and also figure out where to rent the trucks from and where to return them." "What about Craig?" Scott asks. Eric freezes a scowl on his face. Isaac frowns darkly at Scott and squeezes Eric's neck. "He probably doesn't know. I told him it was…. Actually no he doesn't know. He probably thinks it's Seattle. He was out of town with his girlfriend when my recruiter talked me in to Beacon Hills. She was always bitchy and jealous about him texting me so we didn't when she was around….. "Well that's going to work out in our favor then. Hell even if he did know the hunters probably won't talk to him again.

Over the next couple of hours the pack planned out where to have the POD delivered, and where they would rent their trucks. They had long ago established a policy of misdirection and misinformation when dealing with people outside of the pack. They never traveled under their names. When dealing with unfriendlys they made every effort to limit the amount of information they gave out. Everyone had multiple identities and money on prepaid visa cards. Danny had been instrumental and to a fairly large degree had insisted on these precautions being put in to place. All of their identities had full records behind them and could stand up to fairly thorough background checks. This enabled them to travel and make purchases with ease. Large transactions in cash no longer something you could disguise in the modern digital age.

A couple hours later everyone but Isaac is in the kitchen and living room packing up what little bit remained. "When will the truck be here to pick up the POD?" Stiles asks when Eric walks in to the room. "Two" Eric says setting his phone down on the bar and sitting on one of the bar stools. He grimaces and rubs at his neck. Jackson reaches over and rubs at Eric's neck and shoulder. "Still messed up from your shift?" he asks. "Yeah everything is sore but neck and left shoulder are the worst." Jackson swivels his and Eric's stools so he is facing Eric's back and works gently on his stiff neck and shoulder. Eric sighs and relaxes under Jackson's ministrations. Isaac comes in to the room carrying a box. "Last of the clothes." He says. "Are you OK?" He asks looking at Eric. "Yeah just really sore." Eric replies not opening his eyes. Isaac smiles at Jackson and nods his thanks. Stiles is relieved that Isaac hadn't attempted to rip Jackson's arms out of their sockets for touching Eric. Jackson is pack and pack is afforded certain liberties. Given Jackson's history though Stiles was not sure how Isaac would react to Jackson's friendlier than usual behavior towards his mate. Catching Derek's eye Stiles see's Derek was also having similar thoughts. Stiles decides to head off any future trouble and says. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're new so I want to make sure there are no misunderstandings or dismemberments. Wolves are super possessive. Isaac's likely going to be more so once you've completed the claim. You will be of him as well. Non pack touching you is going to be a big no no. Casual contact in your day to day interactions with people outside the pack is to be expected and to a degree….. tolerated but what Jackson is doing would cause someone to lose a limb." "You don't want to come home to your mate smelling like a co-worker either." Derek says.

"After things settle down it won't be so bad. He still won't like it and neither will you. The first few months though, you need to try your best to keep your physical contact limited to pack only." "As much as possible anyway. Neither of you are crazed wild animals but your wolves won't like it." Stiles adds. "That makes sense thanks for the warning I'll make sure to keep that in mind." Eric says finally raising his head and opening his eyes. I'd better go get my mate and get the tire fixed on the jeep." He slides out of the stool and looks at Jackson "Thanks Jacks I appreciate it." Jackson rolls his eyes "Don't call me that freak." But there are no heat behind his words."We'll be back in a little bit. If you guys want we can bring back some food. Text us if you want something."

Walking out towards the Jeep Eric smiles at Isaac as he comes in through the front door. "Hey gorgeous." Isaac says softly pulling Eric in to a gentle embrace kissing him softly. "Ready to go get the tire fixed puppy?" Eric asks reaching up behind Isaac and gently running his fingers through his curly hair. "Yup, lets get something to eat too I'm starving." Isaac takes Eric's hand and they walk out to the Jeep. "The heat never lets up here does it?" Isaac asks pointing one of the a/c vents directly at his face. "In the summer it really doesn't it is supposed to be 105 today. I hope the tenants appreciate the new AC I had installed in the house this year. Probably the only rental house in the area that's got a modern efficient system." Isaac squirms in his seat slightly to get more comfortable and reaches over the console and places his hand on Eric's thigh. Eric looks over at Isaac and smiles. "Do you need to do anything special to get the house rented? Already have a management company lined up?" Isaac asks. "Yeah I did the research a few months ago. They have already been out and taken pictures of everything. I just need to give them a call and tell them to list the place. They have keys and everything." "Excellent. It's so much easier dealing with a management company than someone calling at 3 am because the toilet is over flowing." Isaac says rolling his eyes. A few minutes later they pull up to the tire shop and go inside. After dropping off the tire to be replaced they drive up the road to a Chinese food place and place an order.

Going off of the list of things Stiles had texted it looked like they were feeding an army. Eric chuckles looking at the long list. "hmm?" Isaac says with a smile. "Hard to believe this much food is only for six people." Eric says relaying the order to the guy at the counter. Order placed they move back and sit waiting for it to be filled. "Wolves are huge eaters lots of meat." Isaac leans against Eric slightly and smiles when he doesn't tense up at the mild public display of affection. "I guess heart disease and what not are not lycan afflictions?" Eric says with a smirk. "Nope you can eat whatever you want. I'll warn you in advance though you're going to prefer non processed foods. You will be able to taste all the crap that goes in to most fast food or prepackaged meals." Eric nods his head. "That's good to know, who is the pack cook?" "Who do you think?" Isaac says with a smile. "I'm guessing Stiles since he's not happy unless he's taking care of everyone." Eric answers thinking fondly of his human pack mom. "He is truly the heart of our pack we wouldn't be anything like what we are if it were not for him. Honestly we probably wouldn't even still exist." Isaac goes quiet for a moment and Eric picks up on some faint images flashing through his mind. Past battles, injuries, close calls, what if scenarios. "Hey..… no sad thoughts." Eric says as he quickly and discreetly nuzzles Isaac's neck and kisses him gently behind his ear. Eric senses Isaac's mood shift and he smiles. "That's awesome.." "The fact that you can take me from depressed to happy with a few words and a kiss? Yes it is." Isaac answers back smiling brightly at him. Eric takes his hand and squeezes it. A few minutes later their huge order is ready.

Army sized order loaded in the back of the jeep they head back to the tire shop to pick up the new tire. "Did you know your tire was shot?" The guy at the counter says. "Oh yeah my brother borrowed the Jeep and was out on a deer lease last week. Some jack ass had a round in the chamber he didn't know about. Thankfully the only casualty was my tire and not a person. I'm not even sure if its deer season is it?" The guy rolls his eyes and talks for a minute about crazy people with guns. Isaac is quietly impressed with how effortlessly Eric had covered up for the bullet hole then carefully directed the conversation away from the bullet hole and on to hunting in general. The tire paid for and loaded in the Jeep they are soon back on the road. "You came up with that story really fast. I'm impressed." Isaac says. "Not sure if I should be glad or sad that I'm such a good liar I've had to hide being gay for so many years I'm very good at leading people away from sensitive subjects without them realizing it. A few minutes later and I'll have them on a topic not even remotely connected to what had set off alarm bells." Isaac nods but says nothing. "I'd never do that to you Isaac. It's manipulation and I don't do that to people I care about or love." Isaac smiles and puts his hand on Eric's thigh. "One of the things you'll notice right away when you turn is you can tell if someone is lying to you. You'll be able to smell the deception usually. Also you can hear their heartbeat jump. You've never lied to me yet I have no reason to think you're going to start any time soon."

Pulling back up to the house the two notice that the POD and the rental van are both gone. "That's good they came early." Isaac says. Eric pulls the Jeep in to the garage and sees that as expected the Spyder was gone. Making their way inside the house with the food Isaac snickers. "huh?" Eric says. "Someone took advantage of everyone being gone." Eric says nothing for a moment then smiles when he hears the shower turn on. "Good, you and I shouldn't be the only ones getting lucky. Take your time guys I'll find out when Scott and Jackson expect to be back and let you know." Eric says knowing that Derek would hear them.

To Jackson: What's your ETA Jacks?

From Jackson: Probably 30. I'm going to punch you in the throat if you keep calling me that.

"They should be here in 30." Isaac says reading over Eric's shoulder and kissing him on the neck. Isaac gently pulls Eric away from the food on the island and down on the carpet with him in the corner of the room. Leaning against the wall he pulls Eric close to him. Bracketing his mate between his legs. "Want you to rest a bit, going to be a long day and my baby boy worries me when he tries to push through being tired." Isaac says kissing Eric's neck softly. "I am a little tired already" Eric admits relaxing back into Isaacs's warmth. "Your baby boy trusts your judgment because you are as smart as you are beautiful." Isaac squeezes Eric gently and sends comfort and warmth over the bond. A few moments later Eric slowly goes limp and falls asleep. "Love you baby." Isaac whispers softly closing his eyes as well lulled and soothed by the gentle breathing and relaxed steady beat of his mates heart.

The rustling of bags brings Eric and Isaac back to the waking world. They look up to see the rest of the pack going through the food and setting things out on the bar. Eric and Isaac both stretch and yawn. "Man you guys were _out_. Never heard you snore before Isaac." Scott says walking over and reaching down to help both of his pack mates to their feet. Isaac shrugs and grins sheepishly. "He relaxes me." "Sorry it took longer than we thought." He says walking back over to the bar. "How long was it?" Eric says yawning and looking at his phone. "Freaking hour and a half. Stupid rental company wanted to make a big deal about the flat tires on the van. Even after I told them I'd pay they still had all these forms and wanted a manager to look at them. Idiots." Jackson says ranting while he's shoving food in to the microwave. "Glad you've got a built in microwave. Would be annoying trying to heat this up in the oven." Stiles says wincing and shooing Jackson away when he sees the time and power level Jackson is trying to use. "It's already cooked Jackson we just need to warm it up not set it on fire." Stiles snickers clearing out what Jackson had punched in reducing the power level and time.

By the time they were done eating and the house was cleaned Eric was frowning looking at the time on his phone. "That took a bit longer than I expected." Stiles says frowning as well. "Do we really want to fight rush hour traffic or should we just call it a night and leave first thing in the morning?" "We'll be able to get further before we have to stop than if we were to go tonight. We can pick another hotel further down the road." Eric says "We've got the pillows and blankets from the bed in the back of the Jeep we'd be fine on the floor for one night." Isaac says. Everyone looks at Derek who has a scowl on his face. "Really wanted to be out of Texas today, we'll be OK here for one more night though." "I'll grab the stuff out of the Jeep." Scott says going out to the garage. Minutes later they have a make shift bed made on the floor of the living room Isaac and Eric have already stripped down to their underwear and are cuddled up against the wall whispering too quietly to be heard. Scott's in the now empty room that used to be the office whispering into his phone to Allison. Derek, and Stiles are on the back porch standing close to one another talking softly about the trip while Jackson is propped up against the wall texting Lydia.

After a few minutes Derek and Stiles walk in. "Anyone you want to say goodbye to?" Stiles asks Eric. Eric snorts. The only people in Texas I care about are in this house. I'm very happy to say I won't be saying bye to any of you any time soon." "Aww our new puppy loves us." Stiles says laughing. "That's my nickname." Isaac says faking offense. "My beautiful puppy." Eric says putting his arms around Isaac's neck and making loud kissy noises on his cheeks and neck. "Ugh you guys are going to give me cavities with all this sweetness. I'm going to take a shower." Jackson says groaning and walking to the other end of the house. An hour later they were all asleep enjoying their final night in Texas.

Isaac comes to awareness to find a firm body pressed against his and a warm soft mouth over his. He moans quietly in to the kiss. Eric pulls back and smiles at his mate. "Morning puppy" before kissing him again. "Good Morning beautiful." Isaac says reaching around and holding Eric tightly to him. He can hear the rest of the pack moving around the house and for the moment the two are alone. Smirking he moves again and ends up on top of Eric before grinding down while smothering Eric's moan with his mouth. Isaac thrusts again and again against Eric's fabric covered excitement. "Come for me baby." He whispers hotly in Eric's ear. "Come for me so I can lick you clean." Eric whimpers as he thrusts upward against Isaac's stiffness. "When I get you home I'm going to fuck you so hard baby. I'm going to shove my cock so deep in your pretty little hole." Eric's eyes flash yellow as his heart practically hammers out of his chest. "After I've filled you up with every bit of my come I'm going to straddle your cock and ride you until you bust and fill me. I'm going to take every drop of you baby. Everyone will know…. Everyone will fucking know who we belong to. Come on Eric you're so close I can smell it come for me. Give me your come." Isaac nips and licks at Eric's neck trailing down some he bites down over Eric's heart. That's all it takes. Eric's strangled barely muffled groan fills the room as he and Isaac both finish filling their boxers. "Fuck god oh fuck Isaac." Eric pants as he continues to thrust against Isaac the lubrication of their copious releases soaking through the thin fabric of their boxer briefs. Isaac pants heavily reveling in the scent of his mates climax and the feeling of him writhing underneath him. "Holy crap… I've … wow… uh..Isaac.." Isaac grins widely at the glazed look in Eric's eyes and his inability to form a sentence. "Come on baby boy shower time."

He gathers Eric up in his arms and carries him down the hall and ducks in to the bathroom closing the door behind him. Setting Eric on the sink Isaac gets the shower going while kicking out of his underwear. He turns to see Eric smiling at him. "Like what you see?" he whispers helping Eric down off the sink before pulling his underwear off. That mess out of the way he sets Eric back on the counter and then makes good on his promise to lick him clean. In no time at all Eric is filling Isaac's mouth with orgasm number two. Isaac quickly stands and grunts through clenched teeth as he coats Eric's torso. Smiling he rubs his scent in to Eric's skin a moment before pulling him in to an embrace and walking his still dazed mate to the shower. "You're going to kill me with sex aren't you?" Eric says a moment later once the haze clears from his mind. "I think I'm addicted to you." Isaac says softly as they take turns soaping each other up. "That's allowed." Eric says pulling Isaac forward for a quick kiss before pulling him out of the shower. Eric wraps a towel around his waist and tries to sneak out to the living room to get their clothes. Jackson passes him in the hallway with an eye roll and a smirk "You two are ridiculous." Eric blushes and scurries past returning with their clothes a moment later.

Eventually everyone was in the living room packing up what they had pulled out for the extra night. "Need to make a last sweep to make sure you got everything?" Scott asks. "Nope I checked last night everything is out of the rooms so we're ready to take off." Eric says zipping up his back pack and looking around the empty living room. "Not going to miss this place are you?" Isaac says. "Not at all the only good memories I have here are with you guys so there's nothing to miss." Eric replies slipping his arm around his mates waist. "Lets get out of here we've got a long drive." Derek says. As they are pulling away from the house for the last time Isaac reaches over and squeezes Eric's hand. "I love you Eric I'm so happy to have found you and I can't wait to get back home and start a life with you." Eric smiles looking over at Isaac as he follows the Jeep. "You're going to make me cry if you get all mushy on me puppy. You're the best thing that could ever happen to me." Isaac lifts Eric's hand to his mouth and kisses it.

In the Jeep Scott and Jackson are squirming in the small back seat trying to get comfortable. Derek is scowling at the clock in the radio at how late it is. Stiles is strangely quiet but his stomach is almost continuously growling. "What do you want to eat?" Derek says after 15 minutes of stomach noises. Stiles smiles at him "I thought we'd wait a bit and get down the road some I know you're mad that it's so late." "You're hungry Stiles no way his wolf is going to let his mate go without eating." Jackson chuckles from the back seat. "Yeah" Scott says. "So…. Does everyone know about us being mates?" Stiles asks incredulously. "Pretty much yeah it's been pretty obvious." Scott says. Stiles looks at Derek who looks back with a small smirk on his face. "I'm just glad we didn't have another epic multi-year pining competition with Isaac and Eric. We seriously were thinking we were going to have to lock you guys in a room and not let you out until you mated." Jackson says from the back seat. "I… didn't know I was that obvious." Stiles says with a blush. "Oh not you." Scott says gesturing with his head at Derek when Stiles turned around to face him. "He'd get this kicked puppy look on his face every time you'd leave. Whenever we'd hear your Jeep coming his heart would do this little beat jump thing. It was adorable really." Derek looks at Scott through the mirror and flashes his eyes and scowls. "You pined for me? That is _adorable_." Stiles says leaning over the console and resting his head on Derek's shoulder. Derek put his arm around Stiles and sighs. "Pick someplace to eat… _please_."


	24. Chapter 24

I know the perfect place we can stop for lunch. It's this really cool spot downtown. They built what they are calling a deck park over a highway that cuts like a trench 1 story down through down town and created a really nice park area. There are food trucks art and fountains etc. It's also very open with a lot of people milling around so it will be safe." Eric says into his phone talking to Stiles following in the Jeep. Isaac and Eric were leading the way in the Spyder headed out of town for good while the rest of the pack was loaded up with the last bit of Eric's stuff in the Jeep. After a moment of silence. "Is…..Uh is that OK? Does Derek want to get out of town first?" after a few seconds. "Yeah he thinks it's fine I muted the phone because Dad had to yell at little Scotty for kicking the back of his seat." Stiles says snickering. "There's no room back here Stiles!" Scott's annoyed voice carries over the speaker. "How about we rotate cars every time we stop for gas? That way we can all take turns in the crappy back seat. I'm sorry it's so small back there guys." Eric says frowning. Isaac puts his hand on Eric's thigh and squeezes softly and thinks _he's got to be the sweetest guy I've ever met._ "Scott and Jackson both say they love you." Stiles says. "Not with my penis." Jackson says loudly. "Um OK thanks guys." Eric says laughing.

After a few minutes they find a place to park. After having lunch most of which was spent listening to Stiles make borderline pornographic noises over the quality of his grilled cheese with macaroni sandwich Isaac and Eric wander off a little bit. Isaac's leaning down whispering a joke in Eric's ear causing him to laugh when a couple walks up. "Eric? It is you hey!" Isaac sees Eric's eyes go wide and hears his heart spike. Turning he sees a couple husband and wife he assumes pushing a stroller. The man is attractive and unusually tall for an Asian. _Never seen anyone else with eyes like Stiles before._ Isaac wife is quite short, almost a dwarf compared to her husband but equally attractive. She smiles happily at Eric. "Alex? Hey how's it going? Haven't seen you in a while." Eric says extending his hand. Isaac picks up on a little bit of discomfort from Eric as Alex bypasses Eric's hand and pulls him in to a warm hug. After a moment Eric returns the hug. Isaac purses his lips and gets a tight hold on his wolf as he pics up on a bit of arousal coming off Alex. He's thrown off balance though by the embarrassment and guilt from Eric. "Yeah I know man I'm sorry about that after I left Pathnet you know with the new job, then the new house it's just been a really crazy year." "This is Isaac….. my boy friend." Eric says introducing him to the pair. Isaac's heart swells at the public declaration and he smiles brightly shaking their hands. He doesn't miss the look of…. something that Alex gives him "I was just telling Alex last night he should invite you over, we never get to see you any more although I guess now we see who's been taking up your time." Erica says smiling at Isaac.

Erica chatters on about nothing in particular while Alex and Eric face each other nervously and make small talk a few steps away. He wants to give his mate privacy but the close quarters makes it impossible for him to not over hear their conversation. "You look… really great man. I… wow you look like you've lost 15 years." Alex says a little nervously. "Thanks I've been working really hard I figured you only get to live once so you might as well try to look as good as you can for as long as you can. It's amazing what a little time in the gym will do for you." Isaac frowns slightly when he picks up on the emotions radiating from the two. Alex is a beacon of arousal, want, mixed with guilt. While Eric is just guilt, shame, and sadness. There is a pause in their conversation for a moment. Alex's whose eyes have not left Eric's once glances at Isaac. "He a good one? Treat you right?" The emotions coming from Eric turn to warmth, love, and contentment. "Yeah… The best.. The one." Isaac feels a wave of warmth and realizes its Eric directing it at him over the pack bond. "Good.. That's good…. You deserve the best. I miss you…I…. I'm sorry that..I wish..if things… you know if only…. I just..." Isaac can hear Eric's breath stutter as he shakes his head and looks down. "Stop…please it's OK." Alex puts his hand on Eric shoulder and squeezes. Isaac stiffens and has to stomp his wolf down to stop the growl trying to bubble up from his throat. "You're a really good guy I'm happy for you. I promise I'll do better at keeping in touch. If that's OK?" "Yeah I'd like that you've got my number." Eric says with a smile. After a few more minutes of chatter Erica wraps up her talk about the different trees in the park and says they should get going. She makes Eric promise to keep in touch then hugs him good bye. Alex pulls Eric in to another hug that lasts a beat longer than it probably should have before stepping back. He offers Isaac his hand and with serious stern eye contact tells Isaac to take care of Eric. As the couple walks away Eric looks down at the ground. A variety of negative emotions flooding the air. "Oh my GOD they are so adorable together." Erica says once she thinks she's out of ear shot. "You can tell they really love each other." She continues "He better treat him right. Eric's been through some tough stuff. The guy he was with after Cole… He couldn't give him what he needed.. He deserves to be happy." Alex says casting a glance over his shoulder as they continue to walk away.

Isaac puts his arms around Eric "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." "I don't deserve you." Eric says in a small voice looking down and wringing his hands together. "I'm a bad person." Isaac huffs out a laugh. "You're one of the best people I know what could….Oh…" Isaac pauses connecting the dots. "How long ago?" Eric sighs and takes Isaac's hand and leads him over to a bench in front of a fountain. "It was right after Cole. I was…. Not myself… That's no excuse but we had been friends for a while co-workers. He's one of those guys who has tons of acquaintances but very few friends. We started getting close spending a lot of time together. We'd talk about stuff that we never told anyone else. We had this trust that was nice. He shared with me how he'd been bullied as a kid for having mixed parents. He was.." Eric chuckles "a little funny looking when he was younger. I know, I've seen the home movies…. Then about 23-24 he blossomed in to this beautiful confident 6'6" Chinese guy with a booming voice and amazing eyes. He eventually confided in me about Erica's lack of interest in sex. Saying once they had got married it had been happening less and less. Anyway one night we had been drinking not a lot just enough that we had a good buzz… I can't tell you who started it. He gave me a look and it happened…. It was amazing… absolutely and utterly satisfying it made me forget. I already had a bit of a crush on him to begin with so…." Eric shrugs and shakes his head. "I knew it was wrong, I knew I was no better than Cole. I just didn't care. I justified it to myself by thinking it was her fault for not taking care of her husband who has a beautiful horny man like that and neglects him?" Eric asks shrugging. "I told myself that I wasn't a danger to their relationship if anything I was helping them by taking care of his needs." Eric chuckles bitterly. "How long did it go on?" Isaac says softly. "About two months. I was amazed we never got caught. It was nearly every day, sometimes multiple times a day. At the office, his house my house, my car, his car.

A vision flashes in front of Isaac's eyes. Alex has Eric up against the counter in a bathroom. He's buried deep inside of Eric. They are watching each other in the mirror. For an instant he feels everything as if he's there as if he were Eric. He can taste what he knows is Alex's semen in his mouth and can feel Alex's stiffness thrusting inside him while he strokes Eric's erection he gasps when he feels Alex pulse inside him as he and Eric climax. He can feel Alex's breath on his cheek and his arms tight around Eric's chest as he grunts loudly through his orgasm. "He made me feel wanted and important." "Wow." Isaac says blinking his eyes. "What's wrong?" Eric says. "Ugly blue bathroom, dated 80's decor." Eric's eyes widen. "Sorry it just kind of popped in to my head." Isaac shifts his sounders and rolls his neck. Isaac puts his arm around Eric and pulls him closer. "He made you feel amazing that felt… wow…." Isaac runs a hand through his hair "Why did you stop?" Eric exhales loudly. "It started to be more than just sex. He started spending a lot of time in my office at work. Just sitting in there talking to me not doing anything bad. My assistant even commented a couple of times that he was coming around a lot. He started touching me, nothing bad just casual contact. We had a break in our routine due to work and other commitments. It gave us both a chance to think about things. When we did get together we'd both come to the same conclusion, we needed to stop. He'd justified it to himself by saying it was just fun, and that no one was getting hurt. Once we started having feelings though he knew it had to end. So.. He asked if he could kiss me one last time. I said yes and then he went home. I still went over occasionally but nowhere near as often. A short while later he left the company and until today hadn't seen him since." Isaac was quiet for a moment. "I can see why you'd be drawn to him he's a very attractive guy. His eyes." "Yeah that's one of the things I saw when I first met Stiles, they have the same eyes." "You should ask him to have a 3some with us." Isaac says looking at Eric for his reaction. Eric's breath stutters a moment before he whips his head around to look at Isaac eyes a brilliant yellow a bitter look of fury on his face he growls out "You. Are. _Mine!"_ Isaac's eyes widen at the sudden mood swing and moves to calm Eric's fury. "Whoa there just was trying to lighten the mood. I already had to keep myself from breaking both his arms. He's… _quite_ attracted to you." Eric scoffs. Well it's too late there's only one person allowed on me now." Eric leans over and kisses Isaac. "What about in you?" Isaac whispers back. Eric huffs before smiling and saying"Careful my werewolf boyfriend is very jealous if he hears you talking to me that way he might be upset." Eric jokes. "He's only been with a handful of people in his life. Two girls one of which he married, a guy in high school who was his best friend/ jack off buddy then a guy in college. He said he was actually dating the guy until they had a fight. He went out to a bar and met Erica and fell in love.

He said it was so much stronger than anything he'd ever felt for a guy so that was the end of his gayness. Until the night we kissed anyway. He's not promiscuous… Probably has not been with anyone else so I'm not surprised that he's horny. He has an extremely high sex drive. The highest of any.. well human I've ever known. Eric says smirking at Isaac. "Since you're not shifting and throwing me in the fountain is it safe to assume you don't hate me?" Eric says shoulders sagging and leaning up against Isaac. "We're none of us perfect. It's like Derek said we all have things in our past we're ashamed of, what matters is the type of person we are right now. When I was first turned… It kind of went to my head." Eric looks up at Isaac "In what way?" "I became an arrogant ass hole if anyone looked at me wrong they got hurt. If any girl looked at me the right way they got fucked. It was a rough several months until Derek got tired of it and kicked my ass." Eric's eyes flash and he grits his teeth "He did _what_?" Isaac's eyes widen at the sudden flare of fury and protectiveness from Eric. "No no not like that I meant that figuratively." Eric's eyes turn back to their normal color and he nods his head. He looks over to where the pack is sitting and sees Derek watching them. "That's a fight I hope we never have to have Derek." Eric says. Derek nods and turns back to his conversation with Stiles. "I'd fucked my way through half my class I didn't care if they were single or not. If they had a sister I liked or a mom that was attractive it was all fair game to me. I… Hurt quite a few people acting like that. Eventually I caught the attention of some hunters…"

"What how does a hot guy banging his way across Beacon Hills attract the attention of werewolf hunters?" Eric says incredulously. Isaac smiles sadly. "I got over confident. Several of the girls tried to take my picture. I always made them delete them. If we are prepared for the picture it can turn out fine. If we aren't though, or if we are purposely trying to mess it up our eyes reflect the flash back to the camera and cause a flare effect. To people who don't know any better they just think it's a malfunction but to someone who has seen it before and knows why it's proof you're a wolf. This one girl I was seeing got a candid picture of me. She was excited by the flare effect and said it made me look "mysterious" I told her to delete it but didn't make sure she did. She ended up sharing it with some friends online. One of those friends was friends with a girl who was a hunter. She showed it to her dad and they came looking." Isaac emotions shift suddenly causing Eric to put his arm around his shoulders and pull him closer. "Scott… They came after me and Scott….. He jumped in front of me and was shot. We were at his house and they just came through the front door like some kind of fucking police raid. He still managed to kill two of them before he collapsed Derek thankfully was close by and felt what was going on over the bond. By the time he got there I'd killed four more but the last one shot me and I was getting pretty weak. Derek got there and finished the last two. He got us to Deaton who patched us up. I was convinced it was just some random rouge group of hunters. I was so proud I'd been able to kill four men…. Derek went through their things and found out what brought them to Beacon Hills. He was… Not happy.. I didn't believe him at first until he showed me the picture I recognized her bedroom…. He didn't need to say anything else after that. Because of me Scott could have died, because of me I put the pack at risk. What if Scott's mom had been home? What if Stiles had been there? Derek gave me a family and I put it all at risk. For what? So I could stick my dick in anything that moved?" Isaac shudders and leans over resting his head on Eric's shoulder and sniffing lightly at his neck.

"I wouldn't be responsible for anyone in my pack being hurt or in danger. I pretty much went celibate after that." Isaac says with a chuckle. "At Scott and Jackson's insistence I dated a few times over the years. Usually girls they set me up with. I just didn't feel anything for them. I was numb. I assumed I was just too damaged to be able to care about anyone. After a while I just gave up." "Am I the first guy you've ever been with?" Eric asks uncertainly. "Yeah but honestly looking back I think I may have been gay all along." Isaac reaches down and takes Eric's hand in one of his. "I never really looked at guys. My dad….. He used to call me sissy and fag and queer all the time. I hadn't even hit puberty yet so I wasn't even thinking about sex. When I did I'd been so programmed that I honestly never looked at guys. You though…. You just feel, so natural, so right. No girl ever satisfied me the way you do. Just being with you it feels like a missing piece has finally been found. The sex… holy shit Eric we haven't even fucked yet and you drive me _wild_ when we get together. The pull of the mate bond was there right from the first time I saw you. It was weak though there was something about you that just felt right. It's really dumb but I honestly think I fell in love with you the second I saw you. I hadn't even been with a girl in years. Once I stopped fucking any girl that looked at me and tried to date it never worked. Most girls just wanted me as a trophy to show off to their friends. I could smell it on them. My wolf hated that. When I saw you though it was like my brain clicked and said yes finally."

Eric squirms and squeezes Isaac's hand before looking back up in to his eyes. "So it wasn't weird? Suddenly wanting a guy?" "For about a day maybe. It was a little confusing but not disgusting if that's what you're worried about. I wanted you. The wolf wanted to mount you immediately and lay a claim. I had a feeling you were my mate too but it was all very confusing because I'd _never_ looked at a guy in that way. My dad had literally beaten my gayness in to submission so all I ever looked at were women which were utterly unsatisfying. That day in the clearing though it all changed. It took about a day for me to figure it all out." Isaac leans down and kisses Eric softly. "No more sadness OK? What happened between you and Alex… It's in the past, it gave you and him something you both needed at that point in time. It obviously didn't ruin their marriage. Learn from it and move on?" Isaac smiles as he feels Eric finally relax next to him and smiles when his mate looks up in to his eyes and smiles. "I love you so much puppy." Eric pulls Isaac's head down and kisses him deeply. "I love you to baby boy. Come on I'm sure Derek is ready to get the show on the road."

The two walk hand in hand over to the table where the rest of the pack is sitting. "Ready to move on?" Eric asks. "You guys ready to rotate?" Scott asks hopefully. "I thought I was the only one allowed to drive your car." Isaac asks with a smile on his face. Eric shrugs. "I can't cuddle with you in the back seat if I'm driving." Isaac's face lights up while Derek and Stiles groan. "Keep it PG guys." Stiles says laughing. "PG 13 and you can Derek can get the next rotation back there." Isaac says grinning wolfishly. "Done" Derek says.


	25. Chapter 25

The first part of the plan had worked well. The Pod had been delivered to a vacant lot in a no where town just across the Ohio border. The pack had stopped along the way and picked up two rental trucks from separate rental locations using different ID's. Having strong werewolves meant that the trucks were loaded and the call was placed for the retrieval of the pod in less than 20 minutes. They scattered after that taking alternate routes out of town and met up at a rest stop several hours later. They all knew that nothing would stop a truly determined person from tracking them down. However none of them had the least bit of interest in making it easy on Reggie and his band of goons to follow them if they were so inclined. Little did they know that decision had already been made.

"Were you able to find out where the pod went?" Reginald asks the hunter who had just called him. "Yes it was dropped off in Lucas Ohio." He replies. "Interesting." Reggie grunts. "Should I make arrangements for travel?" the voice over the phone asks. Reggie is silent for a moment. Staring at his computers background. The image is of him and his wife holding their new born son. The son that Eric had spared. "Sir?" the voice questions. "No, we've got bigger fish to fry here. That is James's Dalton's territory. Good riddance." "To the wolves or Dalton?" the hunter on the line asks his smile apparent over the phone. "Either! He's a jack ass. I'd be happy with either him or the pack being put down. As far as I'm concerned they are out of our territory. Let him deal with them. Mark Anderson's file as closed." Ending the call Reginald looks over at the surveillance photo of Eric and Isaac holding hands sitting on the back porch of Eric's house. _You spared my son, I've spared your pack and mate. Don't make me regret it._

"Don't they make sleeping bags for two?" Stiles asks with a touch of annoyance. Eric chuckles "If they do they don't appear to have any here. Just zipper two together and you'll be set." "Awesome idea!" Stiles says. After the first night in a motel on the road out of Texas the pack had decided to buy some gear and camp for the rest of the trip. They were far enough North now that the temperature had dropped enough at nights to make camping feasible. "Still can't believe how disgusting that room was. Are they all like that?" Eric asks shivering. "Yeah even the really nice clean ones still smell like all the people who have been in them." Isaac says. "And all the things they have done in them" Scott says wrinkling his nose. Eric stops with a frown on his face. "Guys, does it really bother you that much that Isaac and I….. I kind of thought since we were pack…. I.. I. mean we can go someplace else if it really is that disgusting to you. I'm sorry I didn't really think about…..." "It's really not a big deal." Derek says reassuring Eric. "It's very common for pack to hear and smell the activities of other pack mates. We've all had to hear Scott and Allison, and Jackson and Lydia…" "And Derek and Stiles." Jackson says with a smirk. Isaac puts his arm around Eric and kisses him on the side of the mouth. "They bitch and moan about it but really it's nothing we've never had to put up with from them. It's OK really." "Stop being little girls dudes you're breaking Eric's happy." Eric looks up at Stiles his frown turning in to a smirk "Breaking my happy?" Stiles smiles back at him and ruffles his hair. "You just inherited a bunch of rowdy crude brothers. Don't take what they say too seriously. Come on puppies let's get out of here it's getting dark and not all of us have built in night vision."

After checking out with their gear the pack makes their way to a nearby state park. They picked the most remote of the camp sites for maximum privacy and set up camp. Stiles and Derek set about making dinner on the small camp stove they had picked up while the rest of the pack set up the sleeping bags. Eric zippers two of the bags together for him and Isaac and another two for Stiles and Derrek. Laying them down he goes over and joins Isaac by the fire leaning against him. After eating Eric gets up and stretches. "I'm going to the bathroom I'll be back." He goes to walk away but Isaac jumps up and snags him by the waist band on his shorts. "I'll come with you." Eric opens his mouth to complain but thinking back to Chilies he closes his mouth and holds his hand out. Isaac smiles and takes the offered hand and walks with his mate to the rest room. Finishing up first Eric steps outside in to the cool dark night. He stretches and looks up at the stars waiting for Isaac. He hears the "sniff" the same time his wolf catches the scent of non-pack wolf and whirls around taking a quick step away from the young man standing in his personal space. Drawing his gun Eric points it at the stranger "Back the fuck away from me." A fraction of a second later Isaac comes boiling out of the bathroom fully shifted in an instant he's between Eric and the new comer snarling angrily. The new wolf's eyes flash blue and he takes a step forward. Isaac growls so deeply Eric can feel his bones practically vibrate. "If you take one more step I'll fill your brain so full of bullets it'll take you a week to heal. Back. The Fuck. Up." Eric snarls. Sniffing again the new wolf holds up his hands and slowly steps back. "You are mates I'm sorry I meant no trespass. I was passing through the park on patrol and caught the scent of wolf. Your mate" He says looking at Isaac and gesturing towards Eric "is very alluring you're a lucky man. You should complete the claim to keep other wolves at bay. My name is Ismael." Isaac shifts back to human and glares at Ismael showing a bit more teeth than he normally would. "So if he hadn't intervened what would you have done? Drug me off in to the trees and had your way with me?" Eric asks lowering the gun. Ismael chuckles "Of course not. Your scent confused me. You smell like wolf, I can tell you have a pack, yet your also appear to be human and carry a human weapon. I shouldn't have got so close without announcing myself. Sometimes I forget human niceties. I would offer to shake your hand but your mate would likely leave me with only one." Isaac takes a step closer to Eric but says nothing. Eric smiles and holsters his gun. "He is a bit possessive but then so am I, we've been through a lot." He says look up at Isaac. Just then both wolves look in the direction of the camp site. Isaac growls. "It would appear my pack mate has found your pack we should go and make sure no one does anything out of line." Ismael says quickly before striding quickly towards the camp site. Isaac and Eric can both feel tension over the pack bond but nothing dangerous.

A few minutes later the trio is at the camp site. Eric can hear Derek speaking as they near the site. "Public domain no approval is necessary when traveling." As the pack comes in to site the tension of the situation becomes apparent. Scot and Jackson have Stiles bracketed in between them. Derek is standing in front of Stiles human but with his Alpha eyes lit up menacingly. He's talking to a younger man probably in his late teens or early twenties. "I see you found two more" the young wolf says. Ismael sighs "Taylor what are you doing?" "They have no approval to be here they didn't contact Mark prior to entering our territory." Derek scoffs clearly more annoyed than threatened. However as soon as Eric is within arm's reach Jackson grabs him and shoves him next to Stiles who rolls his eyes. Eric looks at Isaac and finds that once again his pack has shoved him in the middle of a werewolf circle of protection. "They are travelers staying at a state park. Provided they don't try and take up residence there is no need for them to seek approval." Ismael says tiredly. Taylor glowers at the pack "I don't like it." "Alpha please excuse our rudeness. I'm afraid I inadvertently insulted your beta by getting too close to his mate. I allowed my wolf to approach him as if he were a wolf I would… Take to bed. I didn't know he had a mate and meant no insult. This is Taylor's first patrol, he was just turned 2 weeks ago and is still learning. Enjoy your evening if you'll accept my apology we'll be on our way." Derek nods at Ismael who smiles at Eric and then walks out of the clearing with Taylor following.

"So…. Just walking up two feet from someone and sniffing them? That's acceptable?" Eric says. Isaac tenses "How close was he?" Eric, still standing by Stiles steps behind him and leans forward and sniffs to demonstrate. The pack feels a flash of fury over the bond as Isaac shifts and lets out a roar before bolting in to the trees the opposite direction from Ismael and Taylor. Eric's eyes go wide and he looks around "What just happened?" "He's mad that he allowed someone to get that close to you. He blames himself for you getting poisoned and then for Steve being able…." Stiles stops as Eric abruptly says "Oh shit." and races after Isaac.

After a short sprint Eric is panting. "Isaac… Please come back I'm too weak to chase you down. I'm sorry…Please…don't go…." A few seconds later there is a noise to his left. Eric looks and is relieved to see Isaac walking towards him. Moments later he's wrapped in Isaac's warm embrace. "I didn't know he got that close…. I don't deserve you, I'm not protecting you well enough….. Going to get you hurt…..again." Isaac finally says. "You can't be with me 24/7 as much as we'd both like it. There are going to be times when I can't be with you or you can't be with me. What are you going to do when I go back to work? Sit outside my office?" Isaac refuses to meet Eric's eyes "If I have to" he says stubbornly. Eric opens his mouth to say something but is cut off. "You died… in my arms… you _died_! I.. I.. I can't let." Isaac shudders out trying not to cry. He turns his head to the side eyes closed breathing hard. Eric pulls him close again. "Oh puppy I'm so sorry." Eric rubs his hand up and down Isaac's back comfortingly. "I'm so stupid, it won't happen again. From now on I'm your shadow OK? Once I'm turned and am stronger we can talk about it but until then I won't leave your side. I'm so sorry… I messed up OK? Look I'm new to this werewolf business it's going to take me a little bit to understand things. I'm not used to having someone looking out for me. I'm so sorry I upset you. I love you puppy. I didn't mean to put myself in danger I'm so sorry." Eric holds Isaac tight then looks up and kisses him softly. "I love you too." Isaac chokes out gripping Eric tightly as if he's worried someone's going to run through the forest and steal him. "Are you ready to go back to camp now? I'm really sleepy and would very much like to curl up with you in our new sleeping bag built for two." Isaac huffs out a quiet laugh and takes Eric's hand and heads back to camp. Eric stumbles several times. "I haven't been this weak in a while guess just too much today." Eric says wrapping his arm around Isaac's waist for support. "You shouldn't have run after me like that you could have tripped and got hurt." Isaac says. Eric starts to say he's not 5 years old but in light of Isaac's sensitivity in regard to his safety he decides to keep quiet. He chooses instead to squeeze Isaac's hand. They walk the rest of the way back to camp in silence. Isaac bends down and places a kiss behind Eric's ear just before they come out in to the clearing of the camp site.

Stiles looks up at them and smiles. "Come have smores with us Jackson and Scott are pretending to sleep." "I'm tired Stiles!" Jackson huffs out. "He's sexting with Lydia and doesn't want you to see his boner." Scott says laughing "Fuck you McCall!" Jackson says indignantly. "Not with that little dick you're not." Scott retorts. In a flash Jackson is on top of him. Eric stops wide eyed. "It's OK they do this once in a while. Scotts stronger and always wins." Isaac whispers in his ear. Continuing in a normal tone of voice "You'd think they were still in high school the way they carry on." The only response is growls and snarls from the two tussling wolfs. Eric nods his head. "So.. Smores huh I've never had those before." Eric says smiling. "Seriously? Have you never camped before?" Stiles says. "Well not like this. Mom insisted on a motor home and we rarely ate outside. The only thing we did was roast marshmallows on straightened out hangers. I never really got the appeal." Stiles gapes like a fish out of water for a moment. "Well prepare to be educated my friend." He finally says ushering grandly for Isaac and Eric to have a seat next to him by the fire. Derek rolls his eyes but says nothing.

Later packed full of smores and trail mix Isaac and Eric slip in to their sleeping back for two. Isaac gets in first then holds his arms open for Eric who smiles. Slipping in next to Isaac he turns to face him and kisses him slowly and gently. When he pulls back Isaac smiles at him. "Are you OK?" he whispers just loud enough for Isaac but no one else to hear. Isaac smiles softly and shakes his head yes. "Are we OK?" Isaac nods his head again "Always." he whispers back before moving forward and kissing Eric lovingly. Eric looks at Isaac a moment before whispering "I love you puppy." Isaac turns Eric so he can spoon him and kisses the back of his neck and whispers in his ear "I love you too baby boy." "This is so much nicer than the hotel room." Eric says in a normal volume. "I miss your mattress though." Stiles says softly where he's resting his head on Derek's lap. Isaac tightens his grip on Eric and twines their legs together. "We'll be home soon." Derek says looking out into the trees absently massaging Stiles's scalp. Eric's last memory before slipping in to sleep is the low crackling of the fire and of Isaac's thumb gently strumming on his skin over his heart.

Isaac leans down and peppers Eric's face with gentle kisses. Eric squirms a bit before opening his eyes. Isaac smiles down at him "Morning beautiful." Eric reaches up and pulls Isaac down for another kiss. "Morning puppy, sleep well?" "Not too bad, Stiles is right though, the ground sucks compared to your bed." Eric snickers. "Well it should considering what that mattress cost. Walk me to the restroom?" Isaac smiles and offers his hand to Eric to help him up. Eric smiles and nods at the rest of the pack who are also slowly getting up and stretching. "This part of the park was a good choice aside from our nosy neighborhood wolves we've had the whole place to ourselves." Eric says leaning in to Isaac as they walk. "Yeah, the ground isn't great to sleep on but it's still better than a hotel." Isaac replies. Eric mmmhmms his reply and they make the rest of the walk in silence. They walk in to the rest room and go about their business. When Isaac comes out of his stall a moment later he smiles when he sees Eric waiting for him by the sink instead of standing outside unprotected. "Thanks" he says feeling a little silly for being so protective. "I want my puppy happy." Isaac takes Eric's hand in his and kisses it before leading him out the door and back to the camp site.

Once they are done with breakfast and everything is packed up they drive up to the front of the park where the only showers were. Derek fixes Isaac and Eric with a not too stern glare. "We want to get on the road as soon as possible so you two behave." Right before Stiles grabs his hand and pulls him in to a shower stall. Everyone else chuckles and go to their own stalls. Isaac and Eric step in closing and latching the door to the small dressing area. Eric reaches in and starts the shower and adjusts the temperature. Turning around he's caught by the delicious site of his naked aroused mate smiling at him. "Wow." Is all Eric can say. Isaac leans in stealing a kiss before he pulls Eric's shirt off and unbuttons his shorts. Eric hurriedly steps out of them nearly braining himself when his foot gets caught in his boxers and he loses his balance. Thankfully he falls against a pillar of werewolf muscle. Once his shoes and socks are removed Isaac gently pushes him back in to the shower. He then smirks before sinking to his knees and taking Eric in his mouth. Eric snickers when he hears Stiles whimper from a few stalls down. Isaac works Eric's stiffness quickly and efficiently. He loves spending time in the shower making Eric come multiple times but this was not the time for testing his mate's refractory period. He gently slips a finger inside Eric's tightness and goes right for his prostrate. With a gentle stroke across the surface he causes Eric's entire body to shudder as he climaxes and goes boneless. Isaac as always helps him to a sitting position before capturing his mouth. Eric gestures for Isaac to lift up. When he complies he immediately slurps the younger wolfs large erection in to his mouth and begins to eagerly but quietly fellate him. Isaac whimpers and thrusts gently. Eric deciding to step things up a bit does something he hasn't done with Isaac before and slowly works his finger inside his younger mate. Isaac seizes and has to bite his fist to keep from crying out. Eric strokes his finger over Isaac's nerve cluster causing Isaac's body to shudder violently "guhhhh fuck!" he mutters out before unloading copiously down Eric's throat. Once he stops shaking Isaac weakly helps Eric to his feet and kisses him passionately. "God, love you so much" he says mostly in to Eric's mouth. After a moment Isaac smiles brilliantly at Eric then starts his daily ritual of cleaning Eric off. To be time efficient and so it doesn't seem quite so odd Eric takes care of Isaac while Isaac pampers him.

Once they are both clean and redressed they step over to the sink brush their teeth and dry their hair. The rest of the pack joins them a minute later. Eric notices something off about Scott and Jackson and sniffs not so subtly. Scott turns right red and rushes out of the bathroom. Jackson rolls his eyes and points a finger at Eric's chest. "Not a word, have your boyfriend explain it to you." Isaac laughs but says nothing.

Later Isaac and Eric are in one of the moving trucks following Derek and Stiles who are in the Jeep. Scott is driving the Spyder and Jackson is leading up the rear in the other truck. "That was… Pretty amazing this morning. No one's ever… touched me there before." Isaac says shyly. "I've never really done much uh.. in that area.. The thought of making you go to pieces really drives me crazy though… So expect more of that." Eric says with a blush. Isaac's face is equally scarlet as he smirks at his mate. "So….. I'm guessing everyone had a good shower this morning huh?" Eric says with a snicker after about 20 minutes. "Isaac grins and looks over at Eric. "It's pheromones, happened to me enough times. It's nice to finally be with someone and not just reacting to the scent of others. You and me, plus Derek and Stiles having sex in such an enclosed area puts off quite a smell. It can make other wolves very… excited." "Interesting, humans can't smell it?" Eric asks squirming trying to get comfortable in the seat. "No not really especially with all the steam and the soap and shampoo." "They should have helped each other out." Eric says with a huge grin on his face. Isaac's face scrunches up as he imagines it then his eye brows raise up and he looks thoughtful. "You know I never really thought about that. Since they are both mated though their wolves probably wouldn't go for it." Eric nods looking at his phone and replying to the text message Stiles had just sent. "So no 3 ways in packs huh?" Isaac is quiet a moment before answering. "Not in most, but I have heard of polyamorous packs. Basically it's a free for all and they all have to be willing to share." "hmmmm interesting." Eric says imagining packs of hot guys going at it. Isaac goes strangely silent after that. After a few moments Eric can feel Isaac's anger simmering. He reaches over and flips down the jump seat that's between the driver and passenger seat and slides over. Gently he puts his hand on Isaac's leg. "I've made you angry." Isaac shakes his head no but doesn't say anything. Eric shifts forward and turns to face Isaac. Through his sunglasses he can see the yellow from Isaac's eyes. Then he see's tears start to make their way past the glasses. Eric takes his sunglasses off and cups Isaac's cheek. "Tell me, please?" he says softly. "I _won't_ share you.. Why am I not enough?" Isaac bites out angrily. "Shit." Eric whispers before he grabs his phone and sends a message to the group he'd made for the trip

To Convoy: We have to stop for 5 minutes we're due for fuel soon anyway wait for us there please.

To Derek: I've just fucked up BAD with Isaac I need a minute to fix this.

From Derek: OK

"Ok pull over right up here I don't want you driving for this." "S'fine I'm ok" Isaac says dully. "Isaac _please_." Isaac sighs but signals then pulls off the highway in to a small gas station. He places the transmission in park but doesn't look at Eric.

"Please look at me." Eric says. Isaac finally shifts in his seat to look at Eric. Eric reaches up and takes Isaac's sun glasses off. "Isaac, you are it for me the end of the road you are the _only_ one who will _ever_ touch me that way." "Yet you like the idea of having a big fucking pack orgy. I'm surprised you didn't start jacking off. Who do you want fucking you? Stiles? Jackson?!" Eric is taken aback by the vehemence in Isaac's words. "Isaac I want _you_ fucking me I was not and have not thought that way about anyone in our pack. I will also remind you that I'm gay. If I look at someone it's out of appreciation of their looks not because I want to have sex with them. I've somehow found myself in a pack full of gorgeous men. Want to know who the hottest guy in our pack is though? My _mate_. I've got _perfection_. My mate is the hottest, sweetest, sexiest, most gentle, loving man I have ever met. Why would I want to lay down for anyone else when I have you. When I say you are perfection I'm not talking about just your looks either. You are IT Isaac Lahey anything and everything I've ever _dreamed_ about having in a boyfriend you are it and beyond. You don't just make me horny. You make me _happy_. You make me feel loved, important, cared for. And most important of all? You make me feel _safe_. Ismael is a damn good looking man who can probably get anyone he likes. Yet he made it very clear that he was interested in me. ME!" Eric says laughing and gesturing at himself "Did you pick up on any interest at all from me for him? The thought never even crossed my mind that HEY this hot guy wants me to bend over for him. Know why? Because I'm _yours_."

Most of the tension goes out of Isaac's body. Eric looks down and shakes his head. "Fuck I'm so sorry." Looking back up Isaac see's tear beginning to well in Eric's eyes. "This is the second time in two days I've upset you. You are everything to me Isaac it absolutely guts me when you're upset with me." Isaac reaches over and takes Eric's hand and pulls him over. He turns him around and sets him on his lap with his legs between the two front seats flipping the jump seat up and out of the way. Isaac kisses Eric on the cheek and leans forward leaning his head against Eric's. "I don't want you to think I'm going to leave you every time the topic of sex comes up. You have to know that Isaac. You _have_ to." Eric says leaning in to Isaac's warmth. "I do…. It's just hard sometimes. This…. this is very new to me I…I've never cared for anyone the way I care for you. I'm not even sure if I ever really loved anyone before. I was pretty much conditioned from an early age to feel that no one would want me, that I was worthless. Now that I have something precious…. I.. It's…"Isaac trails off while Eric nods his head. "We're going to get through this, we've both got damage, just because we have each other doesn't mean the past is going to disappear. I have to be able to talk to you though. You're it for me puppy. I don't want to have to censor myself around you. You have to know me appreciating the thought of attractive men in no way shape or form diminishes my devotion to you. I love you. Above all else before anything else it's _you_. It's always going to be _you and only you_."

Isaac slides his arms around Eric and squeezes tightly nuzzling his nose against Eric's neck sniffing softly. "I love you so much Eric so fucking much everything I've been through everything that's happened to me. _Nothing_ scares me as much as the thought of losing you." "You said we'd have a closer connection once you claim me?" Eric asks "Yes." Isaac replies. "I think that'll be awesome for us because maybe we'll have a better read on what's going on in our heads. Kind of like we'll just understand each other better." "From what I've been told yeah we can definitely expect that." Isaac says relaxing a little. Eric smiles and turns giving Isaac a long deep kiss. He draws back a little and looks in to Isaac's beautiful blue eyes. "I love you so much puppy. I'd turn the world upside down for you."

Isaac smiles and leans in for another kiss when Eric's phone rings. Eric smirks and looks at it "Stiles" He says before answering it. "Hey Stiles" he says "Frowny says your five minutes are up everything OK?" Stiles voice comes over the speaker. Eric leans against Isaac's chest shifting the phone to his other ear when Isaac kisses his face softly. "Yup we're fine we are getting back on the road right now, meet you guys at the fuel stop?" Stiles answers "OK see you then." Eric ends the call and sighs enjoying Isaac's attention. "I'm sorry I'm so possessive." He says after a moment. "Possessive is actually kind of a turn on. It doesn't bother me, you just need to know deep down and be confident of the fact that I'm yours. That's it end of discussion you know? I'm yours and you are mine. Period. Anyone who thinks they are going to come between us will be lucky to make it out alive. "Fuck you are so awesome. You are perfect for me…You always know what to say to bring me back from the edge. You are exactly what I need… my mate..." Isaac says squeezing Eric tightly before stealing another kiss. "Crises averted let's get back on the road. Every day…..you fix me just a little bit more every day baby boy." Eric smiles warmly at Isaac before shifting back to his seat. He sits there a moment as Isaac starts driving then moves back to the middle seat where he leans against Isaac's side and gets comfortable


	26. Chapter 26

Eric is anxious. Not I can't wait for that new movie to come out anxious. He is squirming in his seat practically vibrating with energy anxious. It had gradually been increasing for the past few hours. The closer they get to Beacon Hills he's been more and more fidgety. Their convoy has pulled over for lunch now finally just a few hours away from home. Once they have their food and have set down at a picnic table the rest of the pack notices Eric's unusual behavior. Isaac finally puts his arm around his mate "Are you OK? It feels like you're freaking out over the bond." "Honestly don't know where all this is coming from it feels like nervous energy." Scott chuckles a little "Reminds me of what Stiles used to be like as a teenager. Always moving the only time he was still was when he was asleep." "Or hurt." Derek says darkly scowling at the memory of the times his mate had been injured or close to death. "shhhh that was a long time ago." Stiles says to Derek reaching up and rubbing his hand on Derek's back and shoulders. Derek takes Stiles's other hand and kisses it lovingly.

"Your excitement is probably because you're close to the pack home, close to your Alpha's land. We all feel it, it's just new for you since this is your first time being here as a wolf." Stiles finishes and moves a little closer to Derek putting his arm around his waist. He hates it when his big wolf gets sad thinking about the past. Reaching up he kisses Derek behind the ear and whispers "I love you Derek Hale." Derek's frown vanishes and he smiles softly and turns giving Stiles a quick kiss to the lips. "Love you too." "That makes sense." Eric says. "Now that you've said that this feels like anticipation eagerness just dialed up to a way higher degree than I'm used to… I uh… I want to thank you guys for all that you've done for me. Helping me with all the trouble in Texas, then going out of the way to get me moved.. It's just more than I can ever repay." "You don't owe us anything, there is no debt to repay you're one of us this is what we do for family." Jackson says. "We know you'd do the same for any of us.

Later that afternoon they pull up to the Hale house. Eric had been on the edge of his seat as soon as they pulled on to the long private drive up to the house. As soon as Isaac put the moving truck in park Eric looks at him. "Can we go inside? Right now and unpack later? I…I I need to go inside…" Isaac smiles and leans over licking a stripe up the side of Eric's neck to his hair line. "You're amazing." He says. "Let's go." They exit the van and Eric practically sprints up to the front door. Isaac pulls his key and unlocks the door. Stepping inside he disarms the alarm and turns to see Eric in the living room. He's moving slowly around the room touching the furniture. Isaac stands in the doorway smiling until he hears Eric sniff and sees him wipe at his eyes. Isaac gently pulls the pocket doors for the room shut and walks over to Eric. "What's wrong baby?" He asks softly pulling Eric close to him. "For the first time since… since they kicked me out. I'm home Isaac… the smell, the energy. _I'm home_ …. _"_ Isaac squeezes Eric tightly. "You will always have a home here baby. The pack will be there for you. I will be there for you….. _always._ I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have you here with me." Isaac kisses Eric deeply hugging him tight.

The rest of the pack having hovered worriedly outside the closed pocket doors quietly go out and start unpacking the rental trucks. Eric sniffs at Isaac's neck and kisses him. "I never thought that just the smell of someone would make me feel better." Isaac pulls back a little bit hands moving up to hold Eric's face. He gently wipes the tears off his mate's cheeks with his thumbs and smiles at him. "Would you like to lay down for a little bit?" Eric smiles back at Isaac "I would actually but I want to help unload the trucks." Eric puts his hands on Isaac's waist when he opens his mouth to object. "I'm not going to overdo it I promise. I just can't lounge around while the rest of my pack does all the work. Let me help a little bit please? I promise I'll stop when I get tired." Isaac nods his head and leans in for a quick kiss before taking Eric's hand and leading him out of the room. "Your lips are like candy baby boy." Isaac says. "And you've got a sweet tooth?" Eric supplies snickering. "We are sooooo corny." Isaac laughs as they step outside and off the porch.

They find the pack pulling things off the trucks and setting them on the ground. "Sorry for that guys just a little emotional being here." Derek smiles and says "Don't worry about it pack and being on pack land is a big deal your first time. You're on light weight duty only. Tell us where you want stuff but no carrying anything. Understood?" Derek says firmly fixing Eric with one of his patented Alpha glares. Eric's first impulse is to resist but he feels the rest of the packs gentle reassurance over the bond and Isaac's soft hand squeeze on his shoulder so he nods. "I'll be of more help if I'm not passed out on the couch in an hour anyway." Derek nods pleased at Eric's acquiesce. "For now we can put most of the stuff in the basement. There is plenty of room down there. You're welcome to one of the empty bedrooms for an office if you want." Derek says. "That would be great. Clothes and bed... umm.." Eric looks at Isaac and then looks around nervously. "Are we?" Eric starts Isaac smiles and rolls his eyes. "The bed and clothes go in _our_ room." Eric smiles "I didn't want to presume…." "You'd have to lock the door to keep me from sleeping with you funny man." Isaac says laughing. "I want to switch the mattresses out yours is more comfortable than mine." "Hey puppy pile in Isaac and Eric's room tonight!" Stiles says. "I think at some point we need to buy you and Derek one." Eric says smirking.

"Come on it occurs to me that you've never really seen any of the other rooms besides down stairs and Derek's room. We can start on the other side at the garages." Isaac takes Eric's hand and they walk around to the other side of the house. There is a four car garage built in to the house and a detached four car garage. "Since Derek and I live here we park in the attached garage, Stiles is Alpha Mate so he does too. You're my mate so you can park on that side as well if you want." "Wait I actually have rank in the pack?" Eric asks. "Well yes. Derek obviously is the Alpha. Traditionally the Alpha Mate is afforded the same respect as the Alpha and is in charge of the pack in the Alpha's absence. As the Second I answer only to the Alpha and Alpha mate. You're my mate so you're on the same level as I am with everyone else being below us. Remember how Scott and Jackson didn't really question you telling them what to do when the hunters were at your house? If I had said something they wouldn't have but since I didn't they did what you told them. It's not like a caste system or anything it's just an informal chain of command to keep things orderly. Some packs are almost militant in their structure we're pretty laid back."

Stepping in to the garage Eric sees two Jeeps. A Wrangler and a much older CJ. "The Wrangler is mine the CJ is Stiles's." Isaac walks over and pats the old blue Jeep. "She's Stiles's baby and she has seen us through a lot over the years. They finally had to break down and rebuild the engine and transmission last year. Derek wanted to restore the whole Jeep but we all said no." Isaac points to the dents and _claw_ marks. "The body on this thing reads like a history book. Stiles can tell you where and when each mark happened. There is not a single one of the pack that hasn't bled in it. We've all been rushed to the hospital or to Deaton's clinic in here. It's a lot of history. We can all pick out the sound this thing makes coming down the road faster than any other car. It's practically a member of the pack on its own. Derek has tried several times to buy Stiles a new car but he's perfectly happy with his baby. Honestly I'm not sure anyone would ride in anything else. Stiles and his Jeep are a package deal. Like Derek and his Camaro." Eric looks around "I don't see a Camaro." "It's at the airport. They will bring it back when they go to drop off the rental trucks." Eric walks over to Isaac's Jeep. "You've taken pretty good care of it." Isaac opens the driver's door and gestures for Eric to get in. Isaac goes around and climbs in the passenger side. "Derek bought it for me right after he became my guardian. It's my first and only vehicle. It's special to me so I've always taken care of it. Even with all the miles it has it always starts up and gets me where I need to go. We have a good mechanic in town who does all the work on our cars. He's kept it in perfect shape for the 9 years I've owned it. Hey what's over there?" Isaac says pointing. When Eric turns to look Isaac leans over and kisses Eric on the side of his neck several times moving up to capture his mouth when he turns back around laughing. "Love you baby boy." He says pulling Eric over on to his lap and kissing him deeply. Eric melts in to Isaac's arms. Eric whimpers softly as Isaac bites his lower lip teasingly. "Wanna see the rest of the house now?" Isaac asks pulling back and smiling at his mate. "I'll go anywhere with you my little sex pot." Eric says climbing out of the Jeep with his lover. "You can park whatever car you're driving the most here or on the other side. It's totally up to you. Once it starts to snow though you'll appreciate being able to come right in to the house." Isaac tugs Eric's hand and leads him in to the house.

"OK so here is the grand tour of Hale Manor. Living room and kitchen you're already familiar with." Isaac takes Eric down a hallway "Here is Stiles and Derek's study." Looking in Eric sees a large antique two sided partner's desk in the middle of the room. The rest of the room is lined with book shelves. There are a couple of large chairs and a love seat. In one corner there is a fire place. "I'll bet this is great in the winter." Eric says. "It is really nice, the pack doesn't do that much in here. It's pretty much a room for Stiles and Derek to be by themselves and read, research or work on projects. "Further down the hallway here is the Library. Stiles has assembled all the books he can find on the supernatural. We've got most of it digitized but not all of it. The easy part is getting it all scanned in, the hard part is getting it all cross referenced and put in to databases so it's easy to find things. Only pack is allowed in the library. We don't often have people in the house that are not pack but we don't want it getting out what we have in here. We keep this door and the door to the study closed when they are not being used. They are climate controlled to help protect the books some of them are pretty old. If the burglar alarm goes off those two rooms will automatically go on lock down to protect their contents. It's taken years for Stiles to track these books down. Some cost a small fortune to acquire. Many are one off's with no other copies in existence…. Like my mate." With that Isaac leans down and kisses Eric noisily on the cheek. "mwuah" Eric giggles and blushes. Isaac sighs happily. "I love it when you laugh." grabbing Eric's hand he continues. "OK well that's it for the first floor."

Going back to the foyer the two mates climb to the second floor. "OK on this floor we have most of the bedrooms. Everyone in the pack has their own room. I live here and am Derek's second so I have the larger of the rooms on this floor." Isaac takes Eric down to the end of the hall and opens the door. The room is large and full of light flooding in from large windows. The room is bright air airy and smells of mate. Eric stands still for a moment and closes his eyes inhaling the concentrated scent of Isaac. "You OK?" Isaac asks with a little smile. He can sense over the bond that Eric is quite _distracted_ at the moment. "This room…... smells wonderful." Eric says opening his eyes and smiling. Isaac puts his arm around Eric and pulls him further in to the room. "Derek knows I don't like dark closed in spaces so when he redid the house he made sure to put in as many windows as possible." Isaac goes over to a set of doors and pulls them open revealing a small balcony overlooking the forest. There is a small table and two small but comfortable looking chairs. "This seems like a really nice spot." Eric says running his hand over the back of one of the chairs and looking out in to the woods. "It really is, I come out here several times a week and just sit and listen. It's nice when the house is quiet to just sit here and enjoy the sounds of the forest." Isaac walks behind Eric and kisses him on the back of the neck then whispers "Come on I want to show you something." Following Isaac back in to the room Eric sees Isaac's bed. He has to fight the urge to throw himself on it and curl up in the scent of his mate. "Time for that later baby boy come in here." Isaac says smiling when he sees Eric staring longingly at his bed. Eric walks over and sees that Isaac has opened the door to the bathroom.

The bathroom is maybe half the size of the bedroom. "Wow what a huge bathroom!" "When the house was redone there was some extra space over here. It wasn't large enough for a bedroom so Derek asked if I wanted a larger bathroom or larger closet. Well this room already has a huge closet so here we are. While the rest of the house has a classic homey feel the bathroom is very modern and sleek. There is a large jetted tub big enough for 3 people, large mirror with two sink vanity, walk in shower big enough for half the pack and a urinal. "You have a urinal?" Eric asks laughing. "Hey I love my urinal uses less water and is a great conversation starter." He says with a chuckle. "Not sure I want to know who you're trying to start conversations with in the bathroom." Isaac smiles "More than enough room for your stuff in our room don't you think?" He asks with a smile. Eric blushes and shakes his head yes.

"Come on let's find you an office." Walking down the hallway Isaac is naming off rooms. "Here is Scott and Allison's room, Jackson and Lydia's….." They pass a door and while Isaac doesn't say anything Eric feels a brief spike of sadness from his mate. "Isaac, what's wrong we passed that door and you got sad." Isaac takes a deep breath and leans against the wall looking at the floor. "You know we've lost people. That was Erica and Boyd's room. We don't use that room. Well not anyone in the pack. It's not like it's a memorial or anything guests use it but… it's just…" Isaac blinks rapidly and exhales loudly. Eric holds his arms out "Come here." he says softly. Isaac moves in to the open arms. "Losing a pack member, it's hard. It's really really hard. It's not like losing a family member. It's so much worse to lose pack because a part of your… It's like a part of _you_ is gone. We'd just lost Erica which was..." Isaac shudders as tears begin to streak his face. "Then just days later we lost Boyd. That…that one was hardest on Derek.. They…. they held him down and threw Boyd on his claws so that Derek was…. they used him as a weapon to kill…one of his own." Eric puts his hand on the back of Isaac's head and pulls down gently until Isaac's forehead is resting on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry baby." The door downstairs opens and there are several sets of hurried footsteps coming up the stairs. The pack rounds the corner with concern etched on their faces. "I.. I'm OK sorry guys… we were just." Isaac spares a look at the door they were standing next to before putting his head back on Eric's shoulder. Stiles walks up behind Isaac and presses himself up against the taller man wrapping his arms around him and Eric. "It's OK pup we're here." Stiles says softly "I miss them Stiles… it still hurts _so_ much." Isaac sobs brokenly. "I know Isaac… we all miss them….. every day..." The rest of the pack closes in and gently presses against Isaac offering their comfort silently for a moment. After a few minutes of silence Isaac says. "Thanks guys sorry for upsetting everyone." Stiles squeezes Isaac "It's OK pup."

Slowly the group breaks up. Eric doesn't miss the stricken look on Derek's face. Stiles takes the Alphas hand and leads him gently upstairs while the rest of the pack goes back down stairs. Isaac pulls back a little wiping his face. "I don't normally get like this I'm sorry baby.. I.. we just don't use this room unless we need to OK?" Isaac says with a weak smile. Eric nods and takes Isaac's hand and kisses it softly. "Show me the rest?" Isaac nods and smiles a little brighter this time. "There are two bathrooms on the floor one right here and then one down here right next to what I think would make a good office for you. It doesn't even have any furniture in it at the moment. It used to be Stiles's office but he spent so much time in the study we converted it to a bedroom. Isaac opens the door and Eric follows him in. The room is warm and comfortable feeling like the study downstairs. Dark woods and heavy thick carpets lay on the wood floor. Eric turns to Isaac with a huge smile on his face. "I get to use this as my office? You know I'm probably never going to want to leave right?" Isaac smiles back at him. "That may or may not be part of our plan to convince you to live here permanently." Isaac frowns at the slight bump in Eric's heart rate but he says nothing. "It's a great room." Eric says walking over and looking out the window. Nice view too." "It doesn't have its own bathroom but it does open up to one." Isaac says opening one of the doors in the room to reveal a nice contemporary bathroom. "It's perfect." Eric says "Great, make way." Jackson says walking in to the room carrying parts to Eric's desk.

Over the next couple of hours Isaac Jackson and Eric set up the office. Eventually Eric is on all fours under the desk organizing the cables to make it look neater. There is a snicker then a flash of light. "Puppy did you just take a picture of my ass?" Eric asks rolling his eyes. "Maybe." Comes the smug reply. Eric looks back over his shoulder and grins wiggling his bottom. "Good thing you're here standing guard. I hear there are werewolves around here… I'd hate for someone to come mount me while I'm all exposed like this." In a flash Eric is on his back and Isaac is pressing against him cradling his head with his large hands and kissing him deeply. Eric wraps his legs around Isaac's waist and holds him tightly. Out of the corner of his eye Eric see's Scott walk in to the room carrying a box only to go wide eyed before turning on his heel and walking back out. "I think we just traumatized Scott." Eric snickers. "He'll be OK I've seen him in far more compromising situations over the years." Isaac looks to the side for a minute like he's hearing something. "Will you be OK here by yourself for a little bit? Derek is asking for my help in the basement." Eric put's his lower lip out pouting and tightens his legs a little "But you're so warm and your mouth makes my bits tingle." Isaac smiles and laughs softly. "Silly boy... You should have said you were cold though I'll close the window." With another soft kiss to Eric's wet lips Isaac stands and closes the window and walks out of the room. Eric is about to go back to work when a few seconds later he hears Isaac coming back. "Here" Isaac says and lays the blanket from his bed over Eric. Eric sniffs deeply and smiles at Isaac. "Awesome thanks." Still kneeling down Isaac brushes his fingers through Eric's hair. "When I come back why don't we break for dinner? You've been working quite a while you probably need some food and rest." Eric curls up in the blanket and wriggles back under the desk "Sounds good to me let me know if I can help you guys down there." Isaac pats Eric's blanketed leg and leaves the room.

Down in the basement things were being re-arranged and stacked so that Eric would have easy access to his boxes. Occasionally Isaac will go still and angle his head like he is listening to something and smile. "What's he doing?" Stiles asks "Humming, muttering and singing occasionally….poorly." Scott says with a smile. Just then all the wolves stop and appear to be listening they all start to crack up and laugh at the same time Isaac blushes deeply. "Hey tell the human what's so funny." Jackson clears his throat and sing songs "My puppy has a first name it's I-s-a-a-c my puppy has a second name is L-a-h-e-y." Stile's eyes go wide. "That's the most awesome thing I've heard all month!" "He's adorable… it's not his fault he can't sing very well." Isaac says defending Eric's off key version of the Oscar Meyer song. "I can hardly believe how much he has changed." Stiles says wrestling with an old wooden file cabinet until Derek gently hip bumps him out of the way and moves it with ease. "I think if I love him any more I'm going to explode." Isaac says shoving Stiles's old desk in to a corner and setting boxes on it. Isaac suddenly freezes and cocks his head to the side again as if listening before bolting from the room. "It's OK he's just fallen asleep." Derek says but Isaac's already gone. Isaac flies in to Eric's office and stops when he sees Eric's curled up in his blanket still on the floor under the desk sleeping soundly. The rest of the pack arrives a few seconds later and peers over Isaac's shoulder. Derek clamps him on the shoulder and whispers "He lasted a lot longer than I thought he would." Isaac takes his phone out and snaps a picture of his sleeping mate.

"Why don't you guys go ahead and have dinner. I'm going to take him to bed." Stiles reaches up and squeezes Isaacs neck tenderly. "We'll leave some out for you guys." That said the pack retreats quietly out of the room. Isaac walks over to Eric and gently scoops the sleeping man up in his arms and carries him down the hallway to their bedroom. Isaac lovingly deposits Eric on the bed before closing some of the drapes to darken the room some. After that he slips in to the bed behind Eric and wraps his arms around him. Eric squirms back a little in to Isaac's warmth making content sleepy sounds before waking slightly "Love you puppy" he mumbles out softly. Isaac kisses him on the neck. "Love you too baby boy rest a bit." "mmmhmm" Eric hums softly before slipping back to sleep.

Later that evening Eric squirms and opens his eyes. The sun has gown down and there is a soft cool breeze blowing in to the room through the open balcony doors. Eric can see Isaac sitting outside in one of the chairs. He slips out of bed and pads softly across the floor. Isaac turns to him and smiles as he steps out on the balcony. "Hey gorgeous." "Hey sweet puppy." Eric replies softly taking a seat next to Isaac. Eric sees Isaac looking at him smiling. "I love it when you call me that. I love being your puppy." he finally says. Eric smiles brightly. "I can't hear anyone either my hearings back to being human or everyone's asleep." "They have gone to turn the trucks in." "Cool" Eric says leaning over and placing his head on Isaac's shoulder. "It's really nice out here" Eric says as Isaac laces their fingers together. Isaac shifts a little closer to Eric. "I'm going to buy a big chair for out here so we can sit in it together." Eric looks up "That'd be awesome." "Are you hungry?" Isaac asks after a few more quite minutes. "Sure am." Eric grins and stands up offering his hand to Isaac. Isaac takes it and Eric hauls him to his feet pulling him in to a quick embrace and kiss. Isaac lays a playful bite Eric's collar bone before taking his hand and leading him back in to their room.

After a while eating in the kitchen Isaac notices Eric fidgeting. "What's wrong?" He asks. "Nothing." Eric says quickly. Isaac raises his eye brow and puts his hand on Eric's. "What's...Wrong..." He asks again firmly. Smirking Eric replies "Sorry, I just… I don't' like them being gone I can't _feel_ them." Isaac tilts his head to the side a little and his eyes lose focus a bit. A few seconds later he returns to normal. "They are fine, why don't you text them?" Eric smiles and pulls out his phone.

To Stiles: Hey everything going OK? When you guys going to be back?

Just as Eric hits send he gets a text.

From Derek: Everything is OK don't be anxious.

Eric's mouth drops open. A second later another message comes through

From Derek: We will be back in about an hour. Your feelings are normal. Everyone is safe.

Eric smiles when he feels warmth and comfort over the bond from Derek.

To Derek: Thanks Derek. It means a lot that you care. That's exactly what I needed to hear.

From Derek: See you soon. Stiles is asleep so don't expect a reply for a while.

Eric looks up from his phone with a warm smile on his face. He closes his eyes for a moment enjoying the feelings both Derek and Isaac are sending him. Looking at Isaac Eric grins "Everyone's ok they are safe….I'm being dumb huh." "You're not being dumb at all I went through the same thing whenever the others weren't around. Especially Derek. I _hated_ it when he wasn't close by. It will get better also you're connection to the bond will eventually stabilize and you'll be able to feel them. I can already tell they are getting closer. They will always be there in the back of your mind. It's comforting." Isaac says as he stands up and starts to clear the table. Eric helps him get the dishes in to the dishwasher and clean up the kitchen. They are both silent for a few minutes. The two occasionally brushing against each other as they go about cleaning up.

An hour later they were in the living room on the couch watching TV. Well Isaac is watching. Eric is lying with his head in his mates lap dozing while Isaac runs his fingers through his hair with one hand while softly stroking his shoulder with the other. At the sound of the door opening Eric snaps to attention. The pack files in to the living room smiling. Stiles holds his arms out. "Well come welcome us back wolfie." With a smirk Eric leaps from the couch and grabs Stiles in to a big hug. The pack spends the next few minutes scent marking Eric and Isaac who smiles at how happy his mate is. "Did _not_ like you guys being gone. Sorry for being so needy." Eric says "S'ok man we missed you too." Scott says giving Eric a long warm embrace rubbing his face on the older man's neck. "The heightened emotions goes for us too a little bit. Not as much but you're new and we all worry about you." Stiles says trying and failing to not yawn at the end. They all sat around and talked for a little bit. Eventually Scott and Jackson started making like they were about to leave. Isaac noticing Eric's slight frown speaks up "Can you guys stay here tonight?" Isaac asks. Eric looks at him before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "You're the best puppy. Guys you don't need to stay. You've baby sat me long enough you both have significant others you haven't seen in a long time." "Are you sure?" Jackson asks. Eric wrings his hands a little and tugs at the hem of his shirt causing the wolves to frown slightly as the scent of his discomfort and anxiety reaches them. "Will you be here for the full moon?" Eric asks a little softly. "Of course we will!" Scott says. "We'd never make you go through your first one alone." Eric visibly relaxes and smiles meeting their eyes again. "OK… OK cool."

A couple hours later Derek, Stiles, Eric and Isaac are in the living room watching TV. Stiles and Eric both sound asleep. Leaning on their respective mates. Derek and Isaac are whispering. During a lull in the conversation Isaac looks down at his sleeping mate. Eric squirms making soft sleepy noises and puts his arms around Isaac's waist and buries his face further in to Isaac's stomach. Derek smiles at the swell of love and happiness across the pack bond from Isaac. "I'm happy for you." Derek says. Isaac sighs happily and looks at Derek. "Honestly never imagined I could be so happy Derek….oh my god…." He shakes his head and swipes at the tears making their way down his face. "Never thought anyone could make me forget, I…" Isaac stops and chuckles. "I've wanted this for so long. What you have with Stiles….. someone who just gets me someone who is there… I.. I.." Isaac stutters and just smiles. Derek nods "I know what you mean. There is nothing more precious than the love of a mate." Isaac's phone beeps.

From Jackson: Lahey you're leaking feelings again. Take your mate and go to bed already. We'll come by tomorrow.

Isaac snorts and shows Derek the message causing the Alpha to roll his eyes. "It is getting late." Derek says. Isaac nods and gathers Eric up in his arms and stands up. Derek does the same holding Stiles close to his chest. Both wolves lovingly carry their precious cargo upstairs to their respective bedrooms. Isaac lays Eric on the bed and gently undresses him. Eric's eyes open during this and he looks up at Isaac smiling sleepily "Beautiful wonderful puppy. " he murmurs out sleepily before closing his eyes again. Isaac smiles warmly before stripping down to his underwear and settling in bed behind Eric. "Love you baby boy." Isaac whispers placing several soft kisses on Eric's neck. Eric squirms slightly moving back in to Isaac. "Yours puppy always." He whispers softly.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow looks like Eric is finally going to turn. Bet you thought it would never happen.

"It's going to be OK." Stiles says trying to comfort Eric. The full moon will be tonight and he's pacing the kitchen nervously. Derek and Isaac are in the basement preparing one of the cells for Eric's first full moon. The rest of the pack will arrive soon to provide support for the new wolfs transition. "I'm having a hard time calming my wolf. He's…. fuck it feels like he's pacing back in forth inside me looking for a way to get out." Eric says gripping the counter top and staring out the window. "It's the pull of the moon. You'll always be a little on edge before and after the moon. It will get better though I promise." Stiles says walking over and working on Eric's neck and shoulders. "I want to see what it looks like down there." Eric finally says. Stiles's hand stills for a moment "Are you sure you don't want to wait a bit? It's not a pleasant place." Eric feels a tug on the pack bond from Isaac. Warmth and comfort seeping in to his anxious mind. Eric exhales some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "I know. They are trying to make it nicer for me but I can't just stand here… I want to see it. And…."sighing Eric's shoulders slump "I need to be closer to Isaac. I hate being such a needy little bitch but…." Eric blinks his eyes as they start to tear up. "I just really need my mate right now." Eric lets out another sigh that's nearly a whimper. He turns and looks at Stiles before walking over to the door that leads down to the basement. "OK." Stiles says and follows Eric down.

They walk down the stairs in to the "normal" portion of the basement. It's dry well lit and has a standard height ceiling. Most of Eric's stuff is here. Stiles walks over to one of the large built in book cases in the basement and reaches back behind the row of books and pulls a lever. There is a soft click and portion of the book case slides in and over revealing heavy steel door. Stiles punches in a combination on the door and turns the handle. Once the door swings open they are hit with a smell of old damp earth. Stiles ushers Eric through the door stopping to slide the book case shut behind them and then closing the door. They descend a flight of old worn steps. "This is part of the original house. It's very old and creepy. We didn't renovate it because we haven't had need for a space like this in a very long time. It serves two purposes. A place to contain wolves who are out of control due to various reasons, or prisoners."

Isaac comes rushing down the dimly lit hall towards them. "Baby why are you here? It's not time." He stops in front of Stiles and Eric looking at Eric with concern. "I'm sorry I know you're busy…" Eric starts. Feeling how upset his mate is Isaac quickly steps forward and pulls him in to his arms. "Baby its OK I'll always make time for you. _Always._ Eric holds Isaac tight inhaling his mates scent for a few moments. "I'm sorry for this but I just really need to be close to you right now." Isaac sighs and nods. "It's OK beautiful I know what you're going through. Unfortunately it's not a very nice place. I hate that you have to be here at all." Turning Isaac takes one of Eric's hands and leads the way down the damp corridor. They walk past several heavy iron doors streaked with rust. Eric looks in through the small grated openings and see's what appear to be small cells.

They walk through two more heavy steel doors before finally arriving in a large room. "We've managed to get most of the lights working. The uh…. plumbing in the cell hasn't worked in decades. You'll want to use the restroom before you come down tonight." There is a free standing cell in the middle of the floor. Inside the cell Derek is connecting heavy chains to thick rings that are attached to the floor. Eric lets out a sharp gasp and takes an involuntary step back shaking his head and frowning. Isaac puts his arm around his waist. "It's just for tonight baby I promise." "I'm sorry it has to be this way Eric." Derek says standing and exiting the cell. "The few times you've shifted you've demonstrated strength and speed beyond what you should be capable of. We can't take the chance of you getting loose." Eric nods sadly looking around the dreary room. He realizes that this was the room he'd seen in Derek's memories. The one Kate had him in. He looks at Derek and see's the unspoken confirmation in Derek's eyes. Wringing his hands Eric looks around the room. "Will I be alone?" he asks softly. "Absolutely not!" Isaac says "I'll be in here with you probably with the rest of the pack." "You may not even be in here for long." Stiles says drawing everyone's attention. "You've already got your anchor dude… No promises here but you may only be in there for a little while." Derek says agreeing "He's right, all we need to do is let the transition happen and see how calm you are."

"What happens… To people who are bitten and left alone? Does that ever happen?" Derek frowns and shakes his head in the affirmative. "What happens is the hunters get their justification for existence. No matter how good the person anyone left alone and unrestrained on their first full moon will hunt and will kill anything or anyone they find." "I'm… I'm going to be like the Omega that attacked me….. Crazed…." Eric says staring at the ground. "Yes." Derek says drawing a sharp look from Isaac. "I don't want you here Isaac." "What?!" Isaac says. Eric shakes his head and walks to the far end of the room. Isaac follows while Derek and Stiles go to the other end of the room and talk quietly. "Baby….?" Isaac says putting his hand on Eric's shoulder. Eric turns to him. "I don't want you to see me like that Isaac. No….. no way." "Eric… it's who you are." Isaac says turning Eric to look in to his eyes. "No you can't see me snarling out of my mind like a crazed animal." Eric says firmly looking everywhere but Isaac. The taller wolf gently takes his mates face in his large hands and gently turns it so Eric will meet his eyes. "Baby tell me what's wrong. I know that's not the reason." Eric's lips quiver as his eyes start to water. "What if…... how do you…" "Tell me baby remember we said no secrets." Isaac whispers stroking his mates face with his thumbs. "What if…you don't like it….. It won't be me…..What if after you see me like that… What if after it's done I'm different…. And…. And… you decide you don't love me anymore." Eric blinks as a few tears make their way down his cheeks. "Oh baby…" Isaac says pulling Eric in to a loving embrace. "That would never happen you have nothing worry about." "You don't know that, what if I don't get control right away, what if I get loose and hurt someone. What if I hurt you." Eric whimpers out. "Eric…. We're the same. I'm like you I went through my first full moon just like you're about to. I snarled, I roared, I tried to rip the chains out of the wall that were holding me down. We. Are. The. Same. You're not going to hurt me. We're going to keep you here where you'll be safe. You'll get control and it'll be OK. I promise…" Eric blinks looking in to Isaac's loving eyes. "I promise baby.. It's going to be OK. You're anxious, upset, and this is all normal. Your emotions are heightened right now. I _promise_ it won't always be like this." "Do you trust me?" Isaac asks. Without hesitation Eric responds "Without question." "OK then, call me your puppy and lets go get lunch." Eric blinks a moment before smiling at his mate. "I love you puppy can we go in to town? I… Kinda have a craving for meat." "I'm going to buy you a big fat steak baby boy then we're going to ace your first full moon." "Eric looks into Isaac's eyes. "I can do this." He says. "Of course you can." Isaac says smiling at him.

"Can we…do you think maybe we could run tonight?" Eric asks hesitantly looking at Derek. "Nothing would make me happier. _But_ we have to see how your control is first." "OK" Eric says nodding his head and looking around the room again crossing his arms and rubbing his shoulders. "It's not a good space I know. I'd planned on trying to make it not so mid evil torture chamber but didn't have the chance." Stiles says walking over and tapping a light bulb that was randomly flickering off and on. "We were going to work on it while you were away but those hunter jack wagons had other ideas." "It would be hard to find a company that could be trusted with the knowledge of such a space so we left it as it was when the house was rebuilt." Derek says looking around the room with a frown on his face. "After the renovations were done we came down here just to make sure the electricity was working properly and that the construction work hadn't weakened anything then closed it back up. It's been nearly 10 years since any of us have been down here." Isaac says pushing the mess of papers around on a nearby desk. "Any other way in or out of here?" Eric asks. "There used to be two other tunnels but they are sealed off." Derek says. "Are the tunnels still there?" Eric says going over to what was obviously the former entrance to one of the tunnels. "No we collapsed them in stages to ensure total blockage. No one can come through. They could be dug out but there is no way anyone would be able to do that without us knowing." Derek says walking over to stand next to Eric. "You and Stiles want to get some lunch? Isaac and I are going to go get steak." "Oh yes please." Stiles says walking over and sliding his arm around Eric. "We can call the others and see if they want to meet up if you want." Stiles looks at Eric. "That'd be great." Eric says with a big smile.

An hour later finds the pack minus Danny, Allison, Scott, and Lydia at a small diner. "I like this booth big enough for everyone but back out of the way so we can talk." Eric says looking around the small diner. "Yeah typically we squeeze the whole pack in here." Stiles says from his spot next to Derek. Eric has his Alpha on one side and his mate on the other. Jackson is sitting next to Stiles. Occasionally there is a spike of anxiety from Eric across the bond. When that happens Isaac and Derek both lean closer to Eric providing a cocoon of comfort around him. "No Danny, Lydia, Scott or Allison?" Eric says. Jackson shakes his head slightly. "She's not back from her conference yet you'll get to meet her next week though. Danny is in Long Beach helping a friend with some project." "Scott wanted to come but he's helping Deaton with a remote case tonight so he won't be back until late." Stiles says. They are quiet for a moment. "I guess Allison's not here because of me?" Eric says squirming uncomfortably. Isaac puts his hand on Eric's leg and squeezes gently. "It's not a good idea right now with the way your transition and the moon are affecting your emotions." Eric says nothing frowning and looking down at his plate. "It's just a precaution it doesn't mean we don't trust you." Jackson offers. Eric finally looks up and over at Derek "I don't want to cause trouble." Derek sends a brief pulse of comfort over the bond. "You're not, it's just not a good idea to have her in the mix right now." Isaac turns and nuzzles Eric briefly kissing him behind his ear which brings a smile to Eric's face. "Thanks puppy."

An hour later they were back at the house lounging around in the living room. They are all a little on edge due to the pull of the moon. However it was more concern for Eric than the call of the moon. None of them had needed to be restrained during the moon for close to a decade. They were still hypersensitive though to the emotions of their new pack mate. Just as Isaac opens his mouth to say something Eric closes his eyes and twitches his head about a few times. When he opens his eyes they are yellow for a moment before returning to normal. "I think it's time." Eric says. "I was just about to suggest we head down." Isaac says with a smile. He takes Eric's hand and with the rest of the pack in tow walks with Eric down to the basement. They go through the heavy outer door making sure to close and lock it once the last of them was through. When they get to the room with Eric's cell Derek closes the heavy door to that room and locks it. Isaac can hear his mates rabbiting heart beat and can smell his apprehension. He walks with him over to the cell. "It's OK baby I'm going to be right here. We are all here for you. Don't fight the initial change just let it happen. Once you've turned though focus on us, and on me think of how you feel for me and how I feel for you. That will serve as an anchor for your humanity and you'll come back. Don't worry if you don't come back right away. We'll be here until you do. Don't fight your wolf integrate with him. I can't tell you how to do that but if you fight with him it'll be much harder. OK?" Eric starts trembling slightly and looks at Isaac with sad eyes. "I'm scared." He whispers low enough so no one else can hear. Isaac pulls Eric close when he sees the wetness in Eric's eyes. "Baby boy you're going to be fine I promise. Remember what I told you. Nothing that is about to happen will change how I feel about you OK? **_I love you."_** Eric nods and kisses Isaac tenderly. "I love you puppy. More than life itself. I can't wait to run with you."

Isaac smiles and opens the door to the cell. Eric walks in and stands still while Isaac secures the chains around his wrists and ankles. Once he is secure Isaac leans in and places another loving kiss on Eric's lips before stepping out of the cell and swinging the heavy door shut. "Now we wait." Derek says. The pack starts to chatter about various topics to keep the tension low. They make sure they involve Eric so that he doesn't feel so isolated in his cell. This goes on for about an hour with Eric's participation slowly staring to wan. Finally about 5 minutes after Eric's last comment there is a low rumble from the cell. The pack quiets and looks. Eric has his back to the group. "Eric?" Scott says softly. Suddenly Eric leaps to his feet and turns around in a blur of movement his eyes a brilliant angry orange. He's fully shifted and hurls himself forward until he's stopped by the heavy chains. With a deafening roar he rips at the chains one, two, three times. Derek's eyes go wide as he sees some of the links start to fail. "Stiles get out of here _now_!" Scott grabs Stiles and shoves him towards the door. Before he can get the door unlocked Eric rips free of the chains and slams in to the door of the cell raging against the bars and snarling violently.

Isaac rushes over to the cell staying out of Eric's reach. "ERIC! You have to stop. Please!" Eric batters the door to his cell furiously the bars bending quickly. Derek and Jackson stand on either side of Isaac ready to stop Eric. Finally Scott gets the door open and forcefully shoves a resisting Stiles through before slamming it shut the same instant the cell door falls to pieces. Derek shifts and opens his mouth to roar Eric in to submission but stops when Eric doesn't move. Eric's eyes are locked on Isaac's. A look of wonderment on the newly turned wolfs face. He cocks his head to the side as he steps forward out of the cell tentatively. Breathing hard from the exertion against the restraints and his assault on the door Eric closes his eyes and sniffs deeply. "Puppy?" the pet name sounds unusual coming from the fully shifted wolf's deep guttural voice. Isaac steps forward with a smile on his face. "Hey baby boy." Eric shuffles forward another couple steps and reaches out for Isaac. Isaac moves forward slowly wanting more than anything to embrace his mate but still wary of the newly turned wolfs intentions. Eric moves into Isaac's space slowly and gently as if worried Isaac may run then pulls him in to an embrace. Sniffing softly at Isaac's neck Eric slowly turns human again. Pulling back and staring in to Isaac's blue eyes Eric smiles. "My mate, my friend, my love, my anchor. You are my everything." Isaac smiles brilliantly while Jackson makes vomit noises. "You sound like a greeting card." They all turn at the sound of the door opening and see Stiles peering around the heavy steel door. "It's OK Stiles I'm not eating anyone." Eric says. "Holy crap I've never seen anyone get it under control that fast." Stiles says rushing in to the room. "That was…. Something else…" Eric says shaking his head. "It's like I was hit by this wave of fury but I wouldn't give in. I did what you said I embraced him. It was like… I could feel his acceptance…. Of.. of.. me and then it was "let's kill everyone together." Then I was no let's not kill anyone they are pack. I told him he was upsetting our mate and to behave. That our lack of control was shaming us in front of our pack and Alpha. Then we saw you…. standing there so beautiful, with so much love in your eyes. Then just like that… we were one. I can still feel his presence but he's calmer now." Eric says still tightly holding Isaac.

"So what's up with the orange eyes?" Scott asks. "Orange eyes?" Stiles says excitedly. "Orange eyes means rare blood. He must have some pure blood lycanthropy in his family tree." "So someone in my families past was a werewolf?" Eric says incredulously. "That would explain your strength and speed." Derek says eying what's left of the cell. "No beta should be able to get loose like you did." "You have some powerful pure blood Alpha's in your ancestry." Stiles says. "How do you feel?" Isaac asks running a hand through Eric's hair. Eric stills for a moment. "Like I'd like to go run with my pack and then spend the next few days making you scream my name." Isaac's eyes go wide as his face turns a deep crimson. Eric laughs out loud. "Isn't he adorable." Eric says cupping Isaac's happy face in his hands. "Look at me." Derek says. Eric turns to face his Alpha as they lock eyes for a moment. Eric can feel…. Something from Derek almost like Derek was peering in to his mind checking him over. After a moment the Alpha smirks. "I think your control is just fine a run should be safe. You're to stay between Isaac and me understood? We won't crowd you but we can't take the chance of you bolting off toward the town. You're so fast that I'd have to be… aggressive in my actions to stop you I don't want to hurt you." Eric nods before turning his head to the side baring his neck. "Alpha." He says simply. Derek leans down and nips Eric gently on the neck. "Derek." Derek says after a moment. "Who's ready for a run?" Scott says happily. "Everyone but the human." Stiles says frowning slightly. Derek opens his mouth to say something but Stiles cuts him off. "No you guys need to be able to run full speed for Eric no going slow so I can keep up. I want to talk to you when you get back though." Derek raises an eye brow but says nothing as Stiles leans forward and places a firm kiss on his mates lips. "Go on kids I'll be here when you get back."


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK well I'm kinda meh about how this chapter turned out. I've been working on it for a while now and it's not getting any better so I figured I might as well finish it up and get it posted.
> 
> Now that Eric's turned we know what needs to happen next. I've just not been having any luck with a decent sexy times scene for Eric and Isaac. I finally had the idea to split it up to buy myself some more time. Hopefully I can come up with something a little better for when its for them. (cryptic I know it'll make sense when you read the chapter.)
> 
> I think we have 2-3 chapters left of the main story. I have one "one shot" sequel to this mostly written. I had a cool idea for what will probably be a I dunno 5-6 chapter sequel. I've started on that one and have most of chapter one done.
> 
> Sorry for my lame sex scenes. I'm not good at writing them. Although I think mine may be a little bit more like what sex is like in real life. I really roll my eyes at how explosively magical most people make sex out to be. I'm sorry but I've had a ton of sex and while its awesome and sticky and wonderful it's never as magic, earth moving, angel weeping while playing harps as most people seem to write it.
> 
> Anyway hope you like it.

Stiles looks at his phone to check the time and sighs. It's been a couple of hours since the pack left on their run. He knows from many years of experience they typically will be gone between 3-4 hours and will come home filthy, hungry, and buzzing with energy. He normally has Allison, Lydia or Danny to wait with but tonight he is on his own with his thoughts. He distracts himself by cleaning and preparing for everyone's return. He'd changed the sheets in everyone's room. Extra towels had been placed in the bathrooms since everyone always showers after devouring whatever food was waiting for them on their return. He had folded everyone's clothes and left them on the porch. He smirks when he remembers the look of shock on Eric's face when the pack had stripped down in front of him to shift to full wolf. Isaac always the sensitive one had ushered Eric around the side of the house and allowed him to disrobe in semi-private. Eric's shifting to full wolf had caught everyone by surprise. They had expected it would take a while for him to learn the form but Eric was confident he could do it and not one hour after his long awaited transformation he managed to shift fully with little effort.

Sometime later after checking the time again Stiles picks up the phone and orders several pizzas. He normally likes to prepare a meal for their full moon runs but he'd been too distracted by his own thoughts tonight to focus on anything. Right on schedule about 30 minutes after the pizza had been delivered Stiles is sitting on the front porch reading on his tablet when he feels them. He looks up and see's several sets of glowing eyes padding quietly out of the trees. Smiling he stands stretching slowly. "Welcome home pups." He says happily. Derek runs up to him and rubs on his legs nearly knocking him over. Scott presses against him forcefully causing the human to squawk and fall to the ground. In instant the pack is on him and seconds later they are a tangled mess of laughing squealing Stiles and happy wolves nipping and licking playfully at each other.

After several minutes the breathless human crawls out of the pile beaming at his happy pack. He is joined shortly by his very naked mate. Derek pulls Stiles in to his arms and kisses him deeply. "I love you." Derek says. Stiles smiles brightly radiating happiness. "I will never tire of hearing you say that. I love you too. Let's go get pizza before the puppies realize we're gone." He stage whispers tugging Derek towards the house. In seconds the front yard is full of naked men. "Did someone say pizza?" Scott laughs sprinting past Stiles and Derek towards the pile of clothes on the porch with Jackson close behind. Stiles looks back to see Eric standing shyly behind Isaac who has leaned in to Eric's embrace, a blissful look on his face. "Come on lets go inside." Stiles says smiling when he notices the matching marks on the two wolves shoulders. Nodding at Eric Stiles takes Derek's hand and the two walk towards the house. Isaac turns to look at Eric once the prying eyes were gone. Looking his mate up and down. "You are so beautiful. Inside and out." Eric smiles bashfully and looks down. "How was it." Isaac asks. "Before or after my mate _finally_ claimed me as his?" Eric says lustily.

They'd been running for a couple hours. They slowed to a walk and Isaac turned away from the rest of the pack. Derek had smiled wolfishly and nudged Eric to follow his mate while he and the rest of the pack went off in the opposite direction. Losing sight of Isaac for a moment Eric had sped up a little. Rushing around the trunk of a large tree he lets out a very un-wolfly sounding squawk when Isaac lands on his back and nips at his neck playfully. The two wolves roll happily with each other shifting to beta then to human. Eric's brilliant orange eyes meet and lock with Isaac's bright yellow ones. Isaac grinds down on to Eric's already stiff member eliciting a whimper from his mate. "I've waited so long for this baby." Isaac says rubbing his face on Eric's neck. "Isaac." Eric pants noisily. "Take what's yours." Isaac grits his teeth straining to hold back. "It's going to hurt I'm so sorry but baby I can't control it. It's going to hurt. Tonight…..tonight's for our wolves. Next time.." Isaac stops and lets out a strangled howl as his wolf thrashes against his weakening control demanding they claim their mate. "Next time is for us" "Let go puppy they deserve it as much as we do." Isaac crashes their mouths together kissing Eric passionately. Eric responds hungrily. Isaac desperate to not injure his mate hopes this will satisfy his wolf just enough to allow him to prepare Eric. He shoves his fingers in Eric's mouth briefly before diving back in. He reaches roughly for Eric's entrance desperate to not make Eric relive the pain he'd gone through with Steve's assault. He's only worked two fingers in when what little control he has left shatters. Eric pushes back on his fingers drawing his wolfs attention. No longer distracted by kissing his wolf demands they claim Eric once and for all. Eric wraps his legs around Isaac's waist kissing him hungrily. "Isaac now please fuck.. He didn't break me, I'm not some delicate virgin." Eric whimpers out.

With far more force than Isaac wants he lines himself up and shoves in. Eric whimpers in pain but tightens his legs around Isaac's waist and throws his head back exposing his neck. Isaac dives down kissing and biting the soft skin while rolling his hips in quick thrusts. Their coupling is frantic, more noises than words as both wolves growl and pant in pleasure. Sensing his mates climax Eric locks eyes with Isaac "Come in me puppy you promised me every bit of your come. I want it ….give it to me. Every _fucking_ bit." Isaac shudders just as Eric clamps down on his mates thrusting erection. Isaac flies over the edge and explodes inside Eric's tight passage. Semen pulsing out of him Isaac bites down hard and deep on Eric's shoulder. Clamping his arms and legs tightly around Isaac Eric's entire body spasms as he feels Isaac flooding his insides as his teeth sink in to his shoulder. The sensations are the final nudge Eric needs and his orgasm crashes through his body. Snarling loudly he lifts his head and bites down as hard as he can on Isaac's shoulder. The connection of the mate bond slams into place causing both wolves to spasm together and erupt with a second climax just as the first is dying down. Both wolves let loose with ear splitting howls of joy as their sweat slicked bodies pulse together.

Slowly as the aftershocks of the two back to back orgasms die down Isaac and Eric relax in each others arms. "Are you OK?" Isaac asks when his breathing returns somewhat to normal. "I've been claimed by my mate. I'm…..wonderful…amazing…calm." Eric replies softly. Isaac looks down in to Eric's eyes. Eric reaches up and cups Isaac's cheek "I can feel you puppy." Eric says tears forming and running down the side of his face. "I can feel you too baby." Isaac whispers smiling as tears of joy fall from his eyes. Eric smiles then says. "You're so beautiful I see you….. _all_ of you. You're so beautiful…beautiful and mine."

"Amazing like nothing I could have imagined." Eric says taking Isaac's hand and threading their fingers together and walking towards the house. "I kinda thought I'd be bigger though." Eric says as they approach the porch. "What do you mean bigger?" Isaac says. "You're almost Alpha strength." Eric snickers "No I mean uh.." Isaac stops and looks at his mate. "I just thought.. uh.. IT would be bigger. You know?" Eric says gesturing to his penis. Isaac looks at it then back up at Eric confusion on his face. "But you're not small you're perfectly normal." "I just thought I'd be more like.." Eric trails off gesturing at Isaac who laughs softly. "Baby the Bite does many things but it does not give you a bigger dick." "So you mean that." Eric says pointing at Isaac's endowment. "Is completely natural?" "Yup." Isaac says with a reddish tint to his cheeks. "That's just not fair." Eric says sadly as they resume walking. "If it makes you feel any better I'll let you play with it whenever you want." Isaac says chuckling. "Sorry for being so shy hope they leave some food for us." Eric says leaning in to Isaac as they climb the steps to the porch. "You'll get used to the nudity we've all seen each other naked tons of times. Plus we were all on the Lacrosse team together in high school so we'd seen each others junk long before we were pack." Eric nods pulling his clothes on while not too subtlety watching Isaac as he bends over slowly to pick things up wiggling his backside slightly. "You're doing that on purpose." Eric chokes out a bark of laughter. Isaac smiles brightly at Eric before quickly slipping his clothes on. "Come on sugar dick lets go eat before the pizza's gone." Isaac says throwing his arm around Eric's shoulders.

Seated at the table in the kitchen the feeding frenzy is winding down. "How was it Eric?" Stiles asks. Eric looks up and smiles a large happy smile. "Awesome. The pull of the pack is so much stronger in that form. I didn't expect to feel everyone so strongly. It's just one step down from verbal communication. Even though no words were spoken I knew how everyone felt, where to go what to do. I felt so alive, so strong. It was…. Just…." Eric pauses a smile on his face he closes his eyes and shakes his head. Isaac leans over and kisses Eric on the temple. "I remember what it was like the first time I got to run with the pack in full wolf form. It was pretty awesome." Scott says smiling at Eric. "Your wolf is always there in the background. When you are in that form though….. It's like he's _right there_ and you get a chance to really get to know him." Derek nods "The more times you are in your wolf form the closer you will get with your wolf. It's an important part of growing in to the new life. Your control will be better and you'll both be happier. It's a struggle sometimes for bitten wolves. For born wolves it's all you've ever known so it's as second nature to us as breathing or walking. You've got incredible control and have shown remarkable progress I'm very proud of you."

Eric smiles brightly and looks down shyly thrilled by Derek's praise. "Thanks Derek…for everything. For saving my life but also for giving me this amazing gift." Derek grins happily at Eric. Derek believes with all his being that the Bite is a gift. He knows though that many see it as more of a curse than something to be thankful for. He knows of many people whose life had been saved by the Bite only to renounce it and moan about their loss of humanity. He knows Eric appreciates being alive but hearing him voice his appreciation not just for saving him but turning him makes him very happy.

"So….. how's it feel?" Scott asks smirking at Eric and Isaac. Both wolves blush and lean closer to each other. "Sated. My wolf is absolutely satisfied. Calm, happy and relaxed." Eric says looking over at Isaac lovingly. Derek feels eyes on him and turns to see Stiles smiling at him fondly. "Scott can I talk to you for a minute?" Stiles asks. Scott cocks his head to the side a bit. "Uh sure." "In private." Stiles says standing. "Don't go anywhere frowny." Stiles says kissing Derek on the side of the mouth before standing. Stiles ushers Scott towards the study closing the door behind him. Eric looks at everyone at the table. "What's that about?" He asks. "I have an idea." Isaac says. When everyone looks at him. "No way, if I'm right then it's not for me to say." Eric and Jackson groan while Derek rolls his eyes. "I have a pretty good idea." At everyone's expectant looks Derek replies "It's not for me to say though." Smirking at Isaac. "Whose idea was it to sound proof the study anyway?" Jackson asks with a huff. "Who do you think?" Isaac asks. "Stiles pretty much designed he whole place. I can still remember him fighting with Lydia over paint swatches. "Isaac says rolling his eyes and leaning over and placing his head on Eric's shoulder.

Several minutes later the door to the study opens and Scott walks out pale faced and visibly shaken. His heart rate is elevated and his expression is carefully neutral. "You're up." He says simply to Derek before walking over and looking out the window. Derek walks wordlessly to the study and closes the door behind him. "You OK?" Eric asks. "Yeah… Yeah it's going to be OK….. Everything's going to be OK." Scott says almost as if he was reassuring himself gripping the window sill tightly.

"I want the Bite." Stiles says looking Derek in the eyes. Derek's eyes widen slightly as he listens to the steady even heartbeat of his mate. "You're serious." He says. Stiles nods and takes Derek's hand and leads him over to the loveseat. "Derek it's time. I've waited long enough." Derek swallows and nods his head. Thankful that at least for now Stiles can't hear his pounding heart. "I always knew you probably would ask but… Why now?" "You know when I first got involved in all of this I thought about it a few times. I was so close to asking you so many times. I just… I wanted to be a normal kid though. Well as normal as I could be with friends who were wolves. I wanted to do normal high school kid things, go to college marry Lydia and have lots of beautiful babies." Derek nods again. "I wanted you to have all that Stiles I promise I really did. You deserve so much…. So much more than I could ever give… To have everything that…." Derek says quickly. He'd wanted desperately for years for Stiles to give up on him, to leave so that he would be safe. Part of him had always wanted Stiles for himself but he never wanted the human, his mate to be in the constant danger the association with the pack would bring.

Stiles reaches up and cups Derek's cheek in his hand lovingly rubbing his thumb over his Alpha's lips "Shhh Shhh I know you did. I just couldn't leave you and I couldn't leave Scott. I've loved you for so long Derek. It started out as a crush but the more I was around you, the more I got to know you it became clear that you were it for me. I know it took damn near a decade but somehow you gave me just enough. You let me have my freedom. Let me go off to college and have the whole experience. You let me figure out my sexuality and have my fun. I know how hard it was for you yet you still gave me just enough to let me know that when I was ready you'd be there."

Stiles smiles happily thinking back. "A look, a hug when it was just us, just your presence any time I needed you I knew I could count on you. You always just knew. I know you snuck on to campus sometimes to check up on me. I could feel you. You don't know how happy it made me to know you cared enough to drive that far just to make sure I was OK. Somehow I just knew eventually we'd be together. Early on every time I'd have a close call I'd think about asking you for it but to be honest I was scared. Then high school was over and I was in college. I told myself once I graduated I'd ask you. I told myself that I didn't need to deal with being a wolf and college at the same time." Derek shifts on the love seat pulling Stiles close. "You graduated from college years ago though." He says. "I know. After college it was when the house is done, then it was when signed the treaty with the Davis pack. I just kept coming up with excuses. Eventually I didn't think about it anymore. Things got quiet and it just wasn't as important. I knew I would need to eventually because wolves live so much longer than humans. I just figured there would always be time for it later.

Then we get to Texas and Eric dies, Isaac is there holding him and…." Derek pulls Stiles closer as he starts to cry. "All I could think about was that we'd lost another pack mate. It reminded me how dangerous our lives are and how much it hurt you when we lost Boyd and Erica. I thought that could have just as easily been me. You've been through so much Derek…. I can't do that to you…I've been so selfish for so long putting myself at risk." Derek gently wipes the tears from Stiles's eyes and kisses him softly before responding. "Stiles I don't want you to do this for me it has to be for you…for yourself." Nodding and squirming closer to Derek. "It is really it is. It's time, it's past time I have no excuses now. I'm not going to be a liability to our pack. I'm not going to make you have to worry about me every time trouble comes to town.

"I'm going to be 30 years old soon. You've kept me in shape but before too much longer Mother Nature is going to start slowing me down. All the breaks, fractures, dislocations..… they are already catching up to me. Some mornings it hurts just to move. I have to push myself extra hard to keep up during our workouts." Derek nods. He'd noticed probably before Stiles was aware. He could sense the extra exertion Stiles was putting in to their routine to keep up with the rest of them. He'd smelled the pain from Stiles when he's force stiff joints to work in the mornings. Noticed how he'd limp when he thought no one was watching. He wasn't a teen any more darting through the woods powered by an overabundance of testosterone, adrenaline, and fear. He was a man now. A man who's body while still in great shape had been beaten and battered repeatedly over the years.

"I'm happy with you the way you are Stiles. You know there are risks…." Derek says softly. Stiles shakes his head squeezing Derek's hands. "I know the Bite may not take. Believe me I know. I also know that there are factors that stack up for or against it. I think in my case I'll be OK. In our lives getting slow, getting soft means getting dead. Or worse, someone looking out for me when they should be looking out for themselves gets hurt. I could never live with myself if you or anyone else was hurt or worse because I was too slow to look out for myself. My impending sluggishness aside though….." Stiles turns more so he's facing Derek. I want to belong to you Derek. I'm already yours but I want to be yours in every way. I want to wear your mark I want anyone who sees me to know who I belong to. Will you give me the Bite? Please?" He looks in to Derek's eyes for a few moments. Derek eventually smiles and nods. "When?" is all he says. "I'm ready now." Stiles says. Derek lifts Stile's arm and kisses him on the wrist before locking eyes. "Last chance… I love you the same no matter your decision Stiles." Stiles pulls Derek in for a long gentle kiss. "I love you too. Now bite me sour wolf." Derek rolls his eyes as they flash red before holding Stiles tight and biting down. Stiles whimpers in pain as Derek's teeth pierce his skin. Immediately he feels his blood begin to boil. He opens his eyes and sees Derek licking his wrist gently cleaning the blood and helping the wound to heal. "Love… you..Derek…always…..always." Stiles manages to get out as his consciousness slowly floats away. "I love you Stiles. I'll be right here when you wake up. We all will be."

With that Stiles nods slightly before his eyes flutter closed. Derek gathers Stiles up in his arms and squeezes him tightly a nearly inaudible sob shuddering out of him. "Please be OK." He whimpers. _You're my life. I'm nothing without you._ he thinks sadly. Derek squeezes Stiles closely to his chest keening softly before walking out of the study. Eric jumps up out of his seat knocking his chair over eyes flashing orange "I smell blood what's happened to Stiles?!" Eric races around the table in a blur before stopping cocking his head to the side and sniffing. "You've bitten him?" "How the hell do you move so fast? Christ it's like watching one of those cheesy vampire movies the way you move." Jackson growls. "He's OK he asked for the Bite and I gave it to him." Eric reaches out hesitantly but stops. "I'm… my wolf…can I sit with him?" Derek smiles softly. "Come on up he's OK but vulnerable your wolf wants to protect him." Isaac had joined Eric and laces their fingers together. "So I was right. I'm glad he'll be safer this way. Come on not only will it help you feel better it'll help his transition." "He'll be OK right we know he's going to be OK right? Eric asks nervously.

Derek turns walking towards the stairs. "He honestly wants it, he healthy and strong he'll be OK." "He _should_ be OK." Scott stresses. Eric stops and walks back to where Scott is. He looks Scott in the eye for a moment before reaching out and pulling his frightened pack mate in for a hug. "He's my best friend… my brother…if the Bite doesn't take." Scott whimpers into Eric's neck. Eric whispers soothing things in Scott's ear while Isaac walks up and hugs both wolves. "It was his choice Scott we all know he was going to have to sooner or later. He's been through so much pain as a human. This is the best thing for him.

Have you noticed how he's gone back to hiding under layers of clothes again? He stopped for a couple years. Know why he started again?" Scott frowns and shakes his head no. "Scars, he's covered in scars Scott. His arms, his legs, chest and back. He's been stabbed, shot, clawed, and beaten. I've lost count of all the times has had broken bones or been knocked unconscious. It's a miracle he's never suffered any lasting damage. He hides it so well. It's easy for us to overlook it. We see the bandage or the sling and because we heal so fast we forget that for Stiles all those injuries are cumulative. There are days when he wakes up he moves like an old man because of the stiffness." Scott's eyes are wide, "How could I have not known." "I watch people I doubt many beside me or Derek were aware. He is good at hiding it. Don't beat yourself up over it Scott. I know you love him, we all do. He's _Stiles_. Even Jackson loves him."

Jackson says nothing but smirks looking down at the unconscious soon to be wolf in Derek's arms. "We wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for him." Jackson says as he gently runs his fingers through Stiles's hair. Scott sees this and smiles. Isaac continues. "He's strong stronger than any of us. If anyone will survive it will be him. Do you think he'd leave us on our own? The best thing we can do right now is go sit with him and be pack." Scott sighs pulling back nodding and wiping his eyes. "Come on puppies we have a pack mate to watch over. We need to help him just like you all helped me." Eric says taking each of their hands and leading them up to Derek's bedroom where he and Jackson were already lounging watching Stiles sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we have it. Final chapter. I thought there would be a few more but I've done all that I wanted to do with the main story. I've got a one shot follow up for Bitten that's probably 80% done. I'm going to focus on Fall For You for a little bit while I flesh out the details for my sequel to Bitten. I doubt that it will be as long. I'm going to guesstimate 10 chapters? Hard to say. The "rare blood" bit gave me an idea.
> 
> I'm not an Alison hater I just wanted a confrontation between her Chris and Eric and this is what came of it. I know there is some stuff left unresolved. We'll see about tying up some loose ends in the sequel.

The scent is what wakes Eric up. In an instant he is wide awake, enhanced senses scanning the house. He takes a deep breath and smells it again. It takes a moment for him to recognize the scent. The scent he'd had burned in to his memory when he'd seen Isaac's memory. _She_ is in the house. Hackles rising he slips gently out of the bed and stalks soundlessly to the door. He can hear that she is down stairs. Slipping through the door he pads silently down the stairs her scent leading him to the study. He freezes when he hears the sound of a phone vibrating. "What?" she whispers angrily. "Have you found it yet?" The voice on the other end of the call asks. "It's not out any more. They probably put it back in the library I'll have to wait until they bring it out again. I can't talk now they are going to hear me." She replies no more than a whisper. "They will be sound asleep tired after the moon. You smell of pack your scent won't be out of place, it won't wake them up." The voice says. "It's good for them we follow the code." She says after a moment. "It would be really easy… I have to go."

Eric walks around the corner to find Alison waiting. She's leaning against the large partner's desk dressed all in black a smug look on her face. "You're looking better than the last time I saw you." she says sweetly. Stepping forward she extends her hand "I'm Alison it's nice to meet you." Eric frowns at her hand. "What are you doing here?" He asks crossing his arms over his bare chest. "Scott's birthday is coming up. There is a book that has a potion that allows wolves to get drunk. Being new to everything you probably don't know that werewolves can't get drunk. I wanted to surprise him." She says smiling sweetly again. Eric is a about to say something when he feels the comfort and strength of his Alpha. "So you thought sneaking into a house full of werewolves at 3 am on a full moon was a smart thing to do?" Derek says stepping out of the shadows and in to the study. Alison looks at Derek with innocent doe eyes. "I know the pack would never hurt me everyone's control is too good." "Why not just ask to borrow the book?" Eric says. Confusion heavy in his mind. His were senses tell him that she is telling the truth again and again coming back to him saying _not a threat_ but his human instincts are wildly sounding alarm bells and urging caution. "There are other things in that book that she knows we wouldn't want people to know about." Derek says. "I'd never do anything to harm the pack you know that. I just wanted it to be a surprise." Alison says softly looking at Derek earnestly. Eric tries to convey his suspicions to Derek but finds the Alpha has closed himself off from the bond somehow. Derek is silent for a moment before finally speaking. "It's late you should go we'll talk about this later." Smiling shyly. "You're right I'm really sorry for waking you both up." She quickly slinks past the two wolves and out of the house.

Eric looks at Derek who is staring blankly at the spot where she had been standing. "Something's not right Derek. She said the right things, smelled the right way, her heart was steady but…" Pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing deeply Derek says "She lied. She's been around us long enough to know that just enough of the truth combined with complete calm will allow her to deceive." "Is that why you closed the bond off? So she wouldn't know?" Eric asks. Derrek looks at him in surprise. "I didn't think you'd be able to tell. I muted it some so she wouldn't be able to pick up on my suspicion. She's human and not as close as she could be but she's been able to pick up on my emotions before." "I don't like this she is up to something." Eric says scowling before he is soothed by the feeling of reassurance and safety from his Alpha as Derek restores the bond. Seeming to come to a decision Derek nods. "Come on pup." He says placing his hand on the back of Eric's neck and squeezing gently. "Let's go back to sleep. We'll deal with this later."

Eric is jolted awake by Derek leaping out of the bed and pounding out of the room. "What is it what's wrong?" he says. Wrinkling his nose he adds "What is that awful smell." Jackson is standing next to the window peering out. "Hunters." Isaac says jumping up next "Jackson Scott Eric stay with Stiles." "Like hell!" Eric says following Isaac out of the bedroom. "Eric." Isaac says eyes flashing yellow. "I'm not leaving Derek and you to deal with this we'll argue later." Eric grabs Isaac's hand and pulls him out of the room.

The two mates join their Alpha on the front porch. Isaac standing to Derek's right and slightly behind with Eric mirroring the position on the left. Several large SUV's have pulled up in front of the house and several armed men have exited. They stay by their vehicles as two people a man and a woman approaches. "Chris, what brings you to my home with armed men?" Derek says coldly before glaring at Alison. "Our truce does not cover you expanding your pack." Chris answered back icily. "So I'm supposed to let people die then? I gave him the choice and he accepted the Bite." Derek replies. "How very altruistic of you. Of course maybe that's not the correct use of the word since turning him gives you and the pack in general a boost in power. I find it very convenient that a feral Omega managed to get on your land without you knowing." "Are you saying he engineered this?" Isaac speaks with barely contained disgust. "How are we to know?" Chris asks.

"Un fucking believable. It's Texas all over again." Eric mutters rolling his eyes. "We've not met yet. I am Chris Argent. This is…" "Alison." Eric says feeling a growl building in his throat. "We met last night when I caught her snooping around the study." "What?!" The word is mirrored between Isaac who was now looking at Eric and Scott who had been listening in with Jackson from the bedroom. Eric looks at Isaac. "She snuck in last night when we were all asleep under the guise of looking for something to get Scott drunk for his birthday." Isaac's eyes flash and he turns and growls at Alison. Chris waves his hands dismissively. "We have more important things to discuss than drunk boyfriends. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you." Chris says. "Too bad." Eric says. Both Argents look surprised. Stepping forward Eric stands next to Derek. "You have no authority here. If my Alpha tells me to talk to you then I will. Otherwise you're trespassing on private property.

"I see you've found yourself a very good Beta Derek. What's it been 2? 3 weeks and he already is completely loyal and letting you do the thinking for him." Addressing Eric. "It's nice that you feel loyal to him but has he told you.." Eric scoffs and cuts Chris off. "You're no different than the hunters we dealt with in Texas. Bullies with guns who provoke innocent peaceful wolves in the hopes of starting trouble." Chris opens his mouth to say something but stops when Derek speaks after placing a hand on Eric's shoulder to calm him. "He was given a choice, he accepted. He would have died within minutes otherwise. If he had said no I would have honored his wishes and allowed him to die." "My father is just worried about the prospects of a new untrained wolf." Alison says. "We've been back for days, the full moon was last night. There haven't been any "animal attacks" that I am aware of. Yet here you stand with a small army." Isaac says glaring daggers at Alison.

"Is all this really necessary for one new untrained wolf?" Stiles says coming out of the house with Jackson and Scott trailing behind him. The wolves on the porch had been so focused on the tense conversation they had not heard Scott and Jackson trying and failing to get Stiles to stay inside. Stiles walks next to Derek and brushes shoulders with his Alpha and mate. Derek whines quietly deep in his throat only the wolves able to hear. Stiles mutters "I'm OK." before addressing the Argents. "What's up with all the hardware and man power? I know we haven't exactly been friends but we've had a truce for over 10 years now. You've helped us and we've helped you. Why does Derek saving someone's life garner this type of reaction?" Stiles says gesturing at the armed men. "It's because you didn't tell _him_ because you didn't ask _him_." Jackson says with a sneer. "That's it isn't it?" Isaac says incredulously. "You're offended that Derek didn't come to you on bended knee asking for your understanding for what he'd done." Chris shakes his head "By adding to your pack you have shifted the balance of…" Eric shakes his head cutting off the elder Argent. "Do you let Derek know whenever you have hunters come to town?" "That's not the same." Alison says. "How? How is it different that you routinely have people who hunt werewolves come and go yet you don't bother to let the local pack know? I'm one wolf in a pack that has keeping me under control in its best interests. How much…" "Your control is exactly what we're concerned about." Chris says cutting Eric off. Eric grins dangerously stepping forward holding both arms out. "Try me." He says. "Eric." Derek and Isaac both say.

Suddenly an arrow flies through the air. In a blur of motion Eric has snatched the arrow out of the air and raced to the hunter who had fired it. In the blink of an eye the hunter is on the ground with Eric's knee on his chest and the arrow pressed painfully in his neck. When one of the other hunters moves to intervene he finds himself facing Eric's 9mm. Eric eyes flash orange as he holds the hunter at gun point. "Your men are a little twitchy Argent. Yet you'll notice the scary wild animals that you need to outnumber 3 to 1 haven't even moved." Chris turns back to the pack. Derek has his arms crossed over his chest with a look of pride. Isaac looks equal parts worried and furious. Jackson looks bored while Scott seems distracted. Stiles just shakes his head and leans in to Derek's side. "Wolves can't move that fast what are you?" Alison says. Standing and returning his gun to the small of his back Eric shrugs and points at Isaac. "His." Before walking back to the porch and standing next to his mate.

"I guess in the interest of full disclosure." Stiles says before stepping forward and flashing his eyes at the stunned group of hunters. Chris turns and glares at Alison. "I didn't know I would have told you." Alison is looking at Stiles with _Is that shock or disgust?_ Stiles thinks "Stiles why would you do this to yourself? Why would you willingly…." Alison trails off shaking her head as if she were addressing a foolish child. "Are you a hunter or a member of this pack?" Derek demands glaring at Alison. She is stunned for a few seconds before finally responding. "You can't make me choose." She looks to Scott for help but he simply steps next to Derek and refuses to make eye contact. Derek smirks at her look of confusion. "You have no trouble sharing everything with your father yet you show up here with hunters and weapons without a word to me your Alpha or Scott your boyfriend. It would seem to me that you've already chosen." "That's not true I am a member of your pack you can't just….." Raising an eye brow Derek interrupts. "I can and I will. I was a fool to let you back in after what you had done. I let the options of others override my better judgment. In so doing I failed in several duties as Alpha. Foremost of which is the protection of my pack. You've played the game well. You have always said the right things, gone through the motions. Yet you still keep everyone at arm's length. I had thought that it was the pack's memory of what you've done. Looking back though the only person you've let close to you is Scott. Even then you two have been broken up more than together the past decade. After last night though where you lied to me and now here you are with a small army…. No… Your family has caused enough trouble with my pack. You're out." "Scott?" Alison demands. Scott shakes his head stony expression on his face. "You've made your choice. You should have let us know about this. The fact that you didn't proves that you will always be hunter first. I've waited, hoped, and prayed one day you'd truly be pack. You've shown today that you never will be. I've given you 10 years Alison. If that's not enough to prove to you we're not animals then nothing ever will."

Alison looks at each of them her expression slowly turning colder. Her eyes finally come to rest on Isaac a faint sneer on her lips. Eric growls eyes flashing dangerously. "Enjoy that memory all you can hunter. I promise that if you ever even _look_ like you're thinking about going after my mate I'll rip you to pieces." She smirks at Eric and holds her arms out and says "Try me." Isaac see's Eric shifting his weight to launch off the porch and grabs his arm. "Eric please….. _stop_." Isaac says under his breath.

Chris finally speaks up. "Let's not throw away 10 years of progress because of hot tempers." "I agree." Derek says. "Next time you have a problem you call me and we'll meet at a neutral location to settle it." "How would you like it if the pack showed up wolfed out at your house without warning?" Stiles says. "Fair enough." Chris says. The two groups glare at each other for a moment more. "Are we done now? You've disturbed some of the best sleep I've had in years." Stiles says. Chris smirks before turning his back on the pack and walking back to his SUV. "We'll be in touch." The rest of the hunters load up and drive away. Once the last vehicle is out of site Stiles sags weakly against Derek. "Wasn't sure how much longer I could last." He says as the rest of the wolves look at him worriedly. "How are you feeling?" Derek says softly cradling his mates head in his hands. "Sleepy, sore, dizzy, proud of how awesome our pack is." Stiles says stepping closer to Derek and putting his hands around the larger man.

"You need to go back to sleep you only got about 10 hours." Jackson says pausing for a moment before reaching out and massaging Stile's shoulders with a frown on his face. "I felt you, I felt your tension that's what woke me up. The pack bond is like… wow." Stiles says taking Derek's hand. "Would you come lay with me?" "Always." Derek says allowing himself to be lead back in to the house. Stiles stops next to Scott who had was standing uncertainly just inside the door. "Want to talk about it?" Stiles asks softly. Scott looks at Stiles with sad eyes. "Later….please? Can I come.." He gestures up the stairs. "Of course, come on." Stiles reaches with his free hand and pulls Scott and Derek towards the stairs.

Isaac tries to glare at Eric but isn't very successful. "What am I going to do with you?" He says shaking his head with a small smirk on his face. Eric growls low in his throat and yanks Isaac tightly to him causing the taller wolf to gasp. "Annnnd that's my queue to leave. Try not to traumatize the wild life." Jackson chuckles walking back in the house and following the other wolves upstairs. "Are you mad at me puppy?" Eric says kissing, licking and biting at Isaac's neck. "Ye….yes." Isaac manages to stutter out. "You may need to punish me then. Remind me who's wolf I am. Keep me in line…." Biting just shy of too hard on his mate's ear lobe Eric continues. "Make me submit." "I..w…will." Isaac says panting and whimpering as Eric reaches in his sleeping pants and strokes him firmly. "Will what? Fuck me with your big cock?" Eric says filthily in Isaac's ear. Eric squeezes Isaac's length again causing a sex fogged moan from the taller man. Isaac finally gathers enough of his wits and scoops Eric up in his arms and practically runs into the house to their bedroom. Silently thankful that the rooms are sound proofed as he kicks the door closed behind him and flings his randy mate to the bed.

 _Several_ hours later Eric slowly wakes up. Isaac's arm is draped over Eric's chest possessively and he is snoring softly. Utterly drained of energy and other things. Eric smirks remembering the activities of the preceding hours. The look of love and trust in Isaac's eyes as Eric had slid into his virgin opening. The way they had both twitched and shuttered climaxing in unison as Eric's semen had flooded Isaac's deliciously tight passage. Their love making had been slow and unhurried. Both wolves reveling in not just the physical pleasure of their mating but also in the sheer emotional ecstasy that the mate bond allowed them.

Eric slips out of the bed gently and makes his way to the bathroom. Once his business in there was finished he slips a pair of Isaac's shorts on and slips out of the bathroom. Going down stairs he finds Scott sitting at the table in the kitchen looking out the window. Giving in to his wolfs need to comfort the his sad pack mate Eric reaches out and rubs Scott's shoulder before sitting next to him. "I know I'm new, and hopefully not speaking out of place but… If you want to talk.. about her, or anything really I want you to know I'll listen. Whenever wherever.. OK?" Scott looks at Eric and give him a warm smile some of the sadness leaving his brown eyes. "It's OK. I think I always knew we'd end up here. When she was… against us. I knew, I felt that she'd never come back. Something changed, broke in her heart when her mother killed herself. I hoped that if I just waited long enough, was patient enough she'd be OK. She never really was though. I guess I was just fooling myself all these years thinking that eventually someday. If I just loved her enough…." Scott trails off closing his eyes as he starts to cry. Eric pulls the sobbing man close and holds him tight. Scott puts his arms around Eric drawing comfort from his pack mate. "She was my first, I always wanted her to be my mate. She had qualities that drew my wolf to her. She never really embraced that part of me though. When we were teenagers I think it excited her. Rebelling against her parents, being with the one thing they hated the most. Something that was supposed to be so dangerous. As we got older though it was like the only thing she was interested in was human Scott. If she saw me in either of my were forms she'd get this look like she wasn't comfortable. I knew Eric I've known all along and did nothing. What if she'd done something. It would have been so easy…" Scott trails off again shuddering in Eric's arms.

Scott's words remind him of what Alison has said in the study. _"It's good for them we follow the code. It would be really easy…"_ "I don't get the impression that she was trying to harm the pack. I have a feeling she was looking for information that they could use if they needed to. I'm sure they know lots of ways to kill us, this would have allowed them to incapacitate us." Scott nods rubbing his face slightly on Eric's shoulder. "Trying to get the upper hand." he says. "The book she was looking for doesn't really have anything deadly in it there are many ways to incapacitate us in there though that would be hard for us to counter act." Scott lifts his head and looks towards the front door. Eric also hears the car then catches the scent of wolf. "Great just what we need." Scott says as the door opens. Eric is on his feet between Scott and the new comer in a flash teeth bared growling dangerously. "I leave for a little while and this is the greeting I get?" "It's OK Eric." Derek says coming down the stairs. "It's Peter." There is a thump in the backyard and then the kitchen door flies open as Isaac rushes in wolfed out looking for the threat that had upset his mate. He see's Peter and rolls his eyes. Standing next to Eric Isaac leans against the shorter man. Derek says. "Peter this is Eric Isaac's.." Peter's eyes widen as he takes in the scent of the two. "Mate?! How wonderful." Sniffing again Peter grins filthily at Isaac. "Always knew you'd lift your tail for the right man. I'm glad you finally found him. If I'd known you preferred older I would have been happy to…" "Peter…" Derek growls. Eric moves himself between Isaac and his lecherous pack mate. "Ugh who let bad touch Peter in the house?" Stiles says stomping down the stairs.

Peter's eyes go wide before he looks to Derek. " _Two_ new wolves? Nephew I am impressed. I've always said I wished I had bitten Stiles instead of Scott. He's going to be a huge benefit to the pack now that he's not so….. breakable. No offense Scott." Scott shrugs as he tugs Eric closer "Don't really care what you think Peter." Scott pulls Eric in to a firm embrace. "Thanks for listening Eric. I'm glad you're with us." At that Scott nods at Isaac, Derek and Stiles before walking out the still open front door. Stiles gives Derek a squeeze on the arm and follows Scott out closing the door behind him. "So why have you decided to grace us with your presence?" Isaac asks pulling Eric over to the refrigerator and pulling some food out. "Honestly?" Peter asks causing Derek to snort "I'm just passing through. It's been nearly a year since I've been with my pack and I wanted to visit for a few hours before heading to the airport. I also may have picked up on the disharmony on the bond and wanted to see that everything was OK." Peter finishes frowning slightly. "Alison is out of the pack… permanently." Derek says. Peter huffs. "Took you long enough I'm amazed she never turned on you or the pack…. A second time."

Deciding that while wildly inappropriate Peter was mostly harmless Eric walks up and introduces himself. "Hi Peter, Eric. Nice to meet you." Peter gifts Eric with a genuine smile and takes his hand. "Nice to meet you as well. Love is one thing but the love of a mate.." Everyone in the room see's and feels the brief burst of grief from Peter before he composes himself continuing a moment later. "The love of a mate is priceless. Congratulations to both of you.. really." Clearing his throat and turning to Derek. "Could I speak with you? With the changes in the European markets I think we should make a few changes." Derek nods and walks towards the study. "Of course." Peter follows and pulls the door shut behind him.

Stiles comes walking back in to the house a few moments later and helps Isaac and Eric make dinner. "So no more Alison. Are you OK with that?" Isaac asks Stiles. Stiles shrugs and is silent for a few minutes. "Really.. I think I am. There has always been something just a bit off with her. I don't think that she was a plant or a spy or anything. I think that in the beginning she truly wanted to be with us. There were times when she and Scott were on one of their many "breaks" that she would still show up to pack meetings. After her mom though it seemed like she was really only interested in being around if Scott was here. We all got along but there was always this underlying tension whenever she was around. To be perfectly honest I think everyone will be happier now that she's gone. It's hard to really trust someone who's shot arrows in to you or your pack." Stiles says turning the oven and setting the temp. "Or tried to carve your kidneys out with daggers." Isaac says before quickly looking at Eric who has gone stone faced. "Sorry baby." Eric shakes his head. "I'm OK. Actually I'm glad she's gone we shouldn't have to keep our guard up in our own home. We should be able to be ourselves and relax around each other." Sitting down Eric smiles fondly at his pack mates as they rummage around the kitchen.

 _So this is life in the Hale pack._ Eric thinks watching Isaac and Stiles chat and prepare dinner. _Hunters ex-girlfriends, crude resurrected family members, oh and werewolves. All balanced out by pack, my mate, and the comforting background noise of the pack in the back of my mind._ Isaac looks at him just then and smiles before mouthing I love you. Eric melts a little bit and returns the sentiment. Stiles looks at them grinning. "You two are so adorable." Isaac flicks the water off his fingers at Stiles who laughs and goes back to his speech about the Stilinski family recipe for the world's best steak marinade.

Eric sighs more content than he's ever been and thinks despite the changes, despite the dangers. He'd not change a single thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for those of you who were expecting paragraphs of sex between Isaac and Eric. I just have a really hard time writing sex scenes. They are part of this story but not a large part. The sex scenes always took the longest to write and often got in the way of my continuing the story because I'd just stare at the screen and then eventually go do something else.
> 
> Anyway thank you so much for reading reviewing and leaving kudos. The knowledge that people were actually reading this story is what pushed me to continue it.


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